Shades of Ordinary
by PassionForGrey
Summary: Christian and Anastasia Grey are just an ordinary couple with an ordinary life. After a few years of married bliss, they decide to start a family. Only it isn't as easy as they both thought. AU/OOC/C&APOV/HEA *No Cheating *I do not own the FSOG Characters*
1. Chapter 1

_***Authors Note at the bottom.**_

* * *

 _ **Ana**_

 _ **October 2012**_

"Come on you stupid car!" I hiss.

I turn the key and once again nothing happens. I curse, slap my hand on the steering wheel in frustration and then bang my head on it. I groan out loud before getting out of the car.

I slam the door and kick it for good measure. I throw my keys on the ground in irritation and put my head in my hands. I curse again and look at the piece of shit car in front of me.

It is an old silver Pontiac that I have had since I started college four years ago. I didn't want my parents to buy me a car, so I saved up my own money from working at a grocery store while I attended college.

A month ago, I moved back to my hometown of North Bend, Washington and spent the last few weeks handing out my resume and references to all the schools in town. I went to WSU for my bachelor's and spent another few years getting my masters and certification to become a teacher.

Today is my first interview for a teaching position at Twin Falls Middle School, and now I am going to be late because my damn car won't start.

I huff, and just when I am about to pick up my keys off the ground, I hear a throat being cleared behind me.

Without standing back up, I turn my body towards the sound and see an extremely tall guy dressed in a white t-shirt, dirty jeans, and work boots. He is leaning against a brick building smoking a cigarette and staring at me in amusement.

I stand up and turn towards the guy. I am about ready to lay into him for laughing at my misfortune, but before I open my mouth, he speaks.

"Need some help?"

My mouth snaps closed at the sound of his smooth baritone voice. I blink several times when I get a better look at his God-like profile. I can't see his eyes since they are behind a pair of Ray Bans, but he has a sharp looking jaw, straight nose and a perfect mouth.

He chuckles at my obvious gawking and takes another hit of his cigarette before pointing at my car.

"Do you need some help?" he says slowly like he is talking to a small child.

I narrow my eyes at him and put my hands on my hips. "Does it look like I need help?" I snap which causes him to laugh.

I huff again and look away from him. _Who does he think he is?_

I turn back towards him when he finishes his cigarette and flicks it on the ground. "I might be of service," he shrugs and leans back against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

I look at him suspiciously for a few minutes before sighing heavily. I rub my forehead before reluctantly nodding my head. He smiles causing me to stop breathing for a second as he strides towards me. He takes off his sunglasses, giving me a glimpse of his unique gray eyes before winking at me and walking towards the front of my car.

I turn around and my breath hitches as his muscles flex when he opens the hood of my car. I walk towards him as he looks down at the engine.

"Do you know what's wrong?" I bite my nails.

"Yes, it's probably your fuel filter. It could be clogged," he says while touching a few things in the engine before crouching down and looking under the car.

"How do you know?" I groan and lean over to see what he is doing.

"I'm a mechanic. My family owns a garage a mile away from here. I can call one of the workers to come and tow it there," he says while shutting the hood.

I groan again and check my watch to see that I have an hour before I must be at my interview.

"Is it going to take long? I have an interview in about," I start to explain but my phone cuts me off.

I dig through my purse quickly and take out my iPhone. "Hello?"

The mystery man leans against my hood and watches me impassively.

I listen to the person on the phone and sigh inwardly when the lady that is supposed to interview me explains that she has a family emergency and can't see me today. We reschedule the interview for a few days later before hanging up.

I put my phone away and look towards the hot mystery man.

"Thank you. I appreciate it," I give him a small smile.

"No worries," he shrugs and takes out his phone to call, who I am assuming is the garage.

"Elliot, I need a tow," he says into the phone. He places the phone on his shoulder and takes out another cigarette and lights it.

I scrunch up my nose as he inhales. This man is hot as fuck and all, but he sure smokes too damn much for my taste. I cough when he accidentally blows the smoke towards me.

"Sorry," he says through his cigarette.

After a few seconds, he hangs up and flicks his cigarette to the ground.

"Got a name?" he suddenly says after a few minutes of silence.

I bite my lip as he stares at me. "Ana."

He nods. "The names Christian. Do you live around here?" he sticks out his hand.

I shake his hand, which is surprisingly soft for a mechanic before answering him. "Yes. I live about ten minutes from town. Just got home from attending WSU for four years," I explain.

"College graduate huh? What did ya study?" he runs his hand through his long copper hair which distracts me from his question.

"Education. I want to be a teacher," I clear my throat.

"Cool. Well hope you find something soon," he smiles and puts his sunglasses back on.

"Thanks," I shuffle from foot to foot while we wait for the tow truck.

He stares at me from under his glasses causing me to squirm. He smirks and starts to type on his phone for a few minutes before we hear a loud tow truck headed our way.

Christian nods towards the truck and says, "This is my brother now."

I look towards it and see a big red tow truck that says _Grey Towing_ in silver lettering on the side. When the tow truck stops behind my car, the driver cuts the engine, and before I know it, a freakishly tall guy jumps out and slams the door.

My eyes widen as he gets closer to us. The guy has brown hair with a hint of copper in it just like Christian's. He is wearing a blue V-neck shirt and jeans. He's not as muscular as Christian, but he's just as tall as him, if not taller. My mouth drops open when he stops in front of me and slaps Christian on the back.

"What do we got?" he says smoothly as he takes out a cigarette. My eyes widen at how tall these two guys are. This new guy has got to be around 6'4," and Christian looks like he could be 6'3". I'm not a short person, but I find myself lifting my head up so that I can look at these two who stands side by side from each other.

I roll my eyes in annoyance when Christian lights up another cigarette that the guy hands him.

"Didn't you just have two of those in the last ten minutes?" I huff at Christian.

He chuckles and puts his hands up in surrender before placing the cigarette back in its pack. The other guy stares at him in amusement before he lights his cancer stick. I narrow my eyes at him and walk forward and take it out of his mouth and stomp on it with my heel.

"Those are bad for you," I snap at him.

He stares at me dumbfounded for a few seconds before he slowly walks forward and gets in my face. I swallow hard when he glares down at me and I must look up since he's so tall. His green eyes narrow at me before he speaks, "Don't ever touch my cig," he says darkly.

My mouth drops open and I absentmindedly nod my head. He suddenly smirks and closes my mouth with his finger before winking at me.

"Elliot, quit freaking the poor girl out. I apologize for my brother, Ana," Christian walks forward and rolls his eyes at him.

He chuckles and takes out another cigarette, places it between his lips and slaps Christian on the back. "I'm just messing with her. Let's get this show on the road," he says before heading back towards the truck.

"Come on; you can ride with us."

Christian ushers me to the truck, and I get in. Elliot and Christian take a few minutes to get my car sorted on the tow truck before they both hop inside. I sit there between them awkwardly while Elliot drives to the repair shop.

* * *

I look around the little mechanics shop, which is like any other repair shop. I sit down on one of the plastic chairs and pick up one of the numerous magazines that are in front of me.

I get bored and put the magazine back down and look in front of me when I see a tall brunette coming towards me. I get up when she reaches me and offers me her hand.

"Hi, I'm Ella Grey. Welcome to Grey Automotive. Have you been offered any refreshments?" she beams down at me.

I'm not really that struck by other women's beauty, but this woman in front of me is probably the most gorgeous women I have ever seen. She is tall and slender with light honey brown hair, beautiful pale gray eyes with a hint of blue, and her face is small and delicate. Her dimples appear when she smiles at me, waiting for my response.

"Um, no, but I'm okay right now. Did they find out what was wrong with my car?" I bite my lip and look behind her towards the back where my car is being worked on.

"They are still working on it. If you have a seat, my boys will be with you shortly," she smiles, and walks to the front desk, her heels clicking on the tiled floor.

"Boys?" I frown in confusion.

She smiles up at me once more and says, "Yes, my son, Christian, and Elliot. They will be with you shortly."

My eyes widen, and my mouth drops open once more. Wow, no wonder those two hotties are so good looking. I groan inwardly when a hot looking older man walks over to…Ella? _Was that her name?_

He smiles down at her lovingly when he reaches her. He takes hold of her chin and kisses her lightly on the lips, her eyes slowly close at the contact.

I suddenly turn my eyes away at the private moment between them and fidget in my seat feeling extremely uncomfortable in their presence.

I look down at my outfit and frown when I see that my skirt is a little wrinkled. I try to smooth it down as well as my hair, but before I can finish, a masculine voice startles me, "Your car is almost ready young lady."

I look up to see the same man standing in front of me. He is also tall with copper-colored hair and bright green eyes. He smiles down at me and offers me his hand. He is wearing one of those overalls that mechanics wear. His name; _Thomas_ , is stitched on the front pocket. I swallow and give him my hand.

"I'm the owner, Thomas Grey. It's nice to meet you," he smiles politely causing my breath to hitch.

Good Lord, this hunk of a man must be the father. _What is up with all these God-like Greys?_ Suddenly I feel frumpy within their presence. I stand up and try not to show how intimidated and self-conscious I am.

"It's nice to meet you too. Thank you all for being so kind," I smile graciously.

"Your cars done, milady," Elliot bows beside his father causing him to roll his eyes.

"Elliot, stop it. I'm sorry Ana," Christian pushes him away causing Elliot to laugh.

Thomas and Ella roll their eyes as we pass them in reception. Ella shakes her head at her son and Thomas chuckles.

"It was your fuel filter. It is all set," Christian says as he fills out some paperwork.

I nod and look around the garage once more. There are family pictures and photos of old cars on the walls. I spot a family photo that is hanging towards one of the offices in the back. I smile when my eyes land on a child who I'm assuming is a younger Christian.

"Just sigh here," he says handing me the invoice. I give him some cash when I spot the total, which isn't as much as I thought.

I sign my name, and I look up to see him looking nervous. My eyebrows raise in question when he stands there looking suddenly apprehensive. He runs his hand through his hair and looks down at the ground before staring back up at me. I bite my lip and blush when he stares into my eyes.

"Do you want to go out sometime?" he says in a rush while he rubs the back of his neck.

I giggle at his sudden embarrassment. I put my hair behind my ears and smile shyly at him. "I'd like that."

He smiles and gives me his number. He opens the door for me, and I get inside. I roll down the window after starting the engine. I look over at him to see him leaning against a pillar.

"I'll call you," he smirks and then walks away towards the front office.

* * *

 _ **AN: Here is my new story. I have several chapters pre-written, so I will TRY to update every Wednesday, but just know that I have a family and things can come up that will prevent me from updating, but I will try my best to keep the updates coming regularly.**_

 _ **I have had this plot idea long before I had written Surviving with You, so I am excited to finally be able to write it. I know there have been many pregnancy stories lately; mine included, so I thought about changing the plot, but after much thought, I decided just to keep my original idea.**_

 _ **Here is some background information:**_

 _ **All the characters will have different professions than they did in the books. Christian will not be a CEO, and there is no GEH. Ella and Thomas are Christian, and Elliot's biological parents and Grace and Carrick will not be related to Christian or Elliot in any way. Mia will be Grace and Carrick biological daughter. Carla and Ray will be Ana's biological parents.**_

 _ **Ella and Christian do not have the same backstory as they did in the books. There will be no past abuse, touch issues, BDSM and or Cheating. The story will be set in North Bend, Washington instead of Seattle.**_

 _ **Christian, Ana, Grace, and Carrick will not be wealthy. I wanted to do something different where they were just ordinary people with ordinary lives. The chapters and story will not be too long, and this will be in Christian and Ana's POV.**_

 _ **I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and thank you for reading and reviewing. See you next week.**_

 _ **Pinterest page for this story will be under my username: PassionForGrey**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN: Early Update! See you at the bottom.**_

* * *

 _ **Ana**_

"Hi mom," I smile into the phone.

"Hi, sweetie. I just called to ask how your interview went?" she sounds excited.

I sigh, "It didn't. My car broke down in town, and I didn't make it, but they called and said they had to reschedule the interview due to the interviewer having a family emergency," I explain while I look through my closet for what to wear tonight.

Today is my date with Christian. He called a few hours after I left the garage that day. He is picking me up in a few hours for dinner.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry honey. When was it rescheduled?" she asks.

"Tomorrow at three. I'm sorry mom, I have a date I have to get ready for. Can I call you back later?" I sigh and continue rummaging through my closet.

"A date huh? Who is the lucky guy?" she squeals into the phone.

I roll my eyes and launch into the story about how my car wouldn't start on my way to the interview and how I met Christian and his family who owned the garage.

"Christian Grey? I've seen his mother, Ella in town from time to time, and she seems like a lovely woman. Oh, honey, you have to call me right after and tell me how it went?" she begs me causing me to roll my eyes.

"Yes, mom. I have to go now. I love you. Talk with you soon."

"I love you too, honey. Bye," she hangs up.

I throw my phone onto the bed and pick out my outfit before taking a quick shower. I dry off and get ready before I sit down and do my makeup. I put my hair in a side braid and tie it back into a low ponytail. I spray on some perfume before gathering my things and sitting down at the breakfast bar and wait for Christian.

* * *

I smile when I hear a knock on my apartment door. I get up from the stool and hurriedly walk to the door, checking my hair in the little mirror beside the door before opening it to reveal Christian leaning against the doorframe.

"You look beautiful, Ana," Christian smiles at me after I let him into my apartment.

I look down at my outfit and smooth down my dress. I am wearing a flowing white skirt, a black camisole that I tucked into the skirt and I pared my outfit with my black leather jacket. I head to the living room to grab my black heels and put them on my feet while Christian watches me. I smile teasingly at him while he boldly checks me out.

I bite my lip as I stare at Christian while he turns around and looks around my apartment. He sure does scrub up well. He is wearing black jeans, a blue collared shirt, and dress shoes. His copper hair is slicked back from his eyes, and his sunglasses are hanging from his open collar.

"Nice place you got here," he nods in the direction of my living room.

My apartment is small, but cozy one-bedroom studio apartment. It has a red brick in the living room that is just right off the small kitchen. My apartment also has a small balcony and an outdoor patio set that seats two people.

"Are you ready to go?" he smirks at me while I continue to stare at him blatantly.

"Yes," I smile and take his offered hand as we leave the apartment.

When we get outside the apartment complex, Christian leads me over to a big white GMC truck. I smirk at him when he opens the passenger's side. He winks at me as he helps me to hop into the seat. He jumps into the driver's side and starts the engine. I look around the interior and sit there amazed at how nice his truck is.

"Trying to compensate for something with this massive thing?" I tease him.

He stares over at me while he drives forward. He smirks again and says, "Oh, baby, I don't need to compensate for anything."

I narrow my eyes at him and shake my head in amusement. He chuckles and drives towards the restaurant.

* * *

Throughout dinner, we talk about our likes and dislikes. We both talk about how it was growing up, our time in high school, our favorite things, and what our dreams are for the future. He tells me that he only has Elliot as a brother and that his parents tried for a long time to have another child, but his mother had trouble conceiving after she had Elliot.

I told him that I am an only child and that my mother also had trouble conceiving after I was born. I told him how incredibly lonely it was growing up without any siblings and how much I wanted one.

I accidentally revealed that someday I wanted a big family of my own causing his eyes to widen in surprise. I inwardly chastise myself for that little slip-up and apologized for saying anything like that, especially on the first date. Luckily, he wasn't freaked out but just surprised at my confession. He burst out laughing when he saw me blushing and murmuring under my breath on stupid I was for bringing that up.

He goes on to tell me how his parents met their senior year of high school and that they got married a few months after they graduated. His dad moved to Washington from California, and his mom is initially from Seattle. He spent time telling me that his dad's grandparents gave his dad the money to start up the garage before they died. Christian and Elliot practically grew up in that business, and they both always wanted to work on cars when they got older.

Throughout dinner, we ate our meal and continued getting to know each other and found out that we actually have a lot in common. The night was full of laughs, shy smiles and longing stares from both our parts. We sat there and talked for another two hours before he paid the check, and we left the restaurant.

When we pulled into my apartment complex, he hopped out and helped me out of the car and walked me to my door.

I hesitate to turn around and say goodnight because I don't want this night to end. We had such a good time, and I am tempted to ask him if he wants to come in. I usually don't get physical on the first date, but with Christian it's different. I want to take that next step, but I feel it's way too soon to have sex with each other, especially on the first date.

I take a deep breath and take my keys out of my clutch, and after I get the door open I decide to say fuck it and turn around to ask him if he wants to come inside, but I don't get to open my mouth because his lips suddenly crash to mine.

I moan into his mouth as he backs me up into my dark apartment. Yes, I want him, and in the back of my mind, I know it's too soon, but with him kissing me so passionately and the way he is making me feel, I decide to just stop thinking so much and let things happen.

We grind and grope each other while we blindly walk into my living room while we continue to make out. We fall into tables, knock off pictures that are on my walls, and almost trip on my rug while trying to get each other's clothes off.

"I'm sorry, is this too forward?" he says against my lips as he pants.

"No. I want you," I groan against his lips before he rips my thong.

I groan loudly when he cups my pussy before pushing one of his fingers into me. I gasp and then groan when he finds my g-spot. After a few moments of trying to get his pants down, I cup his erection through his boxer briefs which causes him to moan into my mouth.

My eyes widen at how big and thick he feels as I rub him up and down.

"God, you weren't kidding," I smile as I continue to rub him. Thinking of how I teased him about how big his truck was earlier.

He suddenly picks me up and backs me up against the wall. I wrap my legs around his hips after he pushes his underwear down his legs.

"Are you on birth control?" he says against my neck.

"Yes. Please, hurry," I groan as I push my core against his erection.

He suddenly thrusts into me causing us both to moan loudly. He fucks me hard against the wall repeatedly. I scream when my orgasm finally emerges causing Christian to grunt loudly when his own orgasm hits. We pant and try to catch our breath. He has his face on my neck for another few moments and then leans his head back and looks up at me in wonder.

His places his forehead against mine as we stare into each other's eyes. Unknown emotions start passing through his gray eyes and for some unknown reason it causes my eyes to water. His breathing picks up, and he licks his lips. He cups the side of my face while I smile softly at him.

"Wow," he whispers.

I nod and give him a watery smile. "Yeah, wow."

He wipes my tears from my eyes before he kisses me passionately before carrying me to the bedroom. After he gently lays me on the bed, he continues to stare into my eyes as he slowly makes love to me until we both are entirely spent.

I lay in his arms in the early morning, the sun begins to rise as I lay there staring at a sleeping Christian, and I find myself thinking that I might be already falling in love with him. I gently trace his face and lips causing him to smile in his sleep. I cup his face, lean down and lightly kiss his lips a few times.

I smile softly when I lay my head back on his chest. When I finally drift off to sleep, I can't help but wonder what the future holds for us.

* * *

 _ **AN: Thank you so much for the review, followers, and favorites for the first chapter. I'm happy that you all liked it.**_

 _ **I have about twelve chapters written so far, and I try to write daily, so I can give you all regular updates. I will continue to update weekly, and if I finish writing this story, I will update a few times a week.**_

 _ **Next chapter will have a big-time jump. The chapters are on the smaller side, which helps me write more chapters instead of taking forever on longer chapters.**_

 _ **I'm sorry ahead of time if the story seems to be going a little slow, but it will pick up in the upcoming chapters. I hope you all bear with me.**_

 _ **A guest reviewer asked if Leila will be in this story, and the answer is Yes. She will be a bigger character in this story. She won't, however, be the same Leila we see in the books, and she will not be after Christian or try to cause problems for C &A. **_

_**See you all next Wednesday. Thanks for reading and reviewing.**_

 _ **Pinterest under my username: PassionForGrey**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Five years later**_

 _ **Ana**_

I sigh down at the papers in front of me. It is around 5:30 in the evening and I am sat at our dining room table grading my student's quizzes that were given to them in class earlier today.

When I am done grading my last student's paper, I put my red pen down and sit back in my chair. I ended up getting the position as a language arts teacher at Twin Falls Middle School a few days after my first date with Christian.

Speaking of Christian…I bite my lip and look towards the front door wondering when he will be home.

Christian and I have been together for five years now. After he woke up that morning when we first slept together, he asked me to be his girlfriend, of course, I said yes, and we have been happily together ever since.

After a year of dating, he proposed to me in front of our whole family on our one-year anniversary, and a few months after I said yes, we were married in a small church with just our friends and family in attendance.

After few months after our honeymoon, we spent a week in Seattle; we bought our first house in a cute little neighborhood a few miles from town where we first met. The house is a charming one-story, two bedrooms, one and a half baths, white exterior paint, brown shutters, and a big front porch with a swing in front of the large living room windows.

Christian's and I's relationship has been great these last five years. At the beginning of our relationship, we decided not to start a family right away and just to be the two of us for a while. In our third year of marriage, we both had a long talk when we were in bed together one night and decided to start trying for a baby.

In the beginning, we just enjoyed our time trying to conceive, and after the first few months of trying, we didn't end up getting pregnant. The next few months we tried ovulation tests, charting my fertile days, having sex non-stop, having sex only on my fertile days, and even doing special positions to help, but nothing worked. It has now been over a year and were still not pregnant, and it's starting to take a toll on our marriage.

Christian has been a little distant here lately, and I can see how much the whole pregnancy thing is getting to him. I know how much he wants a baby and every time I get my period at the end of the month, I feel like such a failure. I can see it in his eyes how disappointed he is that was not getting pregnant.

I want more than anything to give him a child, and that is why we have an appointment to see a fertility specialist on Monday that my gynecologist recommended. I'm afraid there is something wrong with me that it's my fault we are not becoming pregnant, and I'm scared shitless that the doctor is going to tell us we will never be able to conceive our own child.

The front door opens startling me from my depressing thoughts, and in walks, Christian dressed in his usual dirty jeans and white oil stained V-neck shirt. He takes off his boots and places them near the door next to the heels that I wore to school today.

"Hey," he says as he lights up a cigarette, his copper hair is a mess, falling into his eyes as he exhales.

I roll my eyes and shake my head at him as he sits down beside me at the dining table. Christian started smoking again a year ago due to how stressed out he was. After a few weeks of dating, I told him how much his smoking bothered me, and he promised to quit, which he did for a long time, but after the stress of the last year of trying, he started back up again.

"You know I don't want you smoking, Christian, especially in the house," I scowl at him.

"Lay off of it, Anastasia," he rolls his eyes and leans back in his chair.

"No, I won't _lay off of it_ , Christian. I want you to be here when our baby gets here. Not dead from lung cancer," I snap causing him to jab the cigarette out on the table harshly.

He glares at me and then says, "We don't have a child, Anastasia and the rate we're going, we will never have one," he snaps, gets up and kicks the chair to the ground before stomping out of the room.

I jump when he slams the bedroom door. I cover my mouth with my hand as my eyes fill with tears. I know he is upset about our fertility issues, but he's never spoken to me that way before. He hardly ever raises his voice to me.

I put my head in my hands and try not to break down at the thought of never having a baby of our own. I can't stand this distance from him. I know he is stressed out, and I am too but yelling at me is not helping anything.

I sigh and compose myself before getting up and walking into the kitchen to start dinner.

* * *

After a tense dinner, I am in our bedroom getting ready for bed. It's Friday tomorrow, and I am looking forward to the weekend.

I sigh and look at myself in the mirror in our bathroom. I wash my face with my facial wash before putting on some lotion. I gently trace the dark circles under my eyes and sigh in annoyance. My face overall tells the apparent stress of the last year. I'm sure the stress is not suitable for conceiving either.

My periods have been irregular for a while now, probably due to stress. I make a mental note to talk to the doctor about it while we are at the appointment on Monday.

I sigh once more and head back into the bedroom. I put on a pair of panties, sleep shorts and a long white t-shirt before turning off our light and heading into the living room.

Christian is still in his dirty work clothes, sitting in his recliner, drinking a beer and watching sports center. I cross my arms over my chest and lean on the doorway of the kitchen and stare at him while he sips his beer.

"Are you going to stare at me all night?" he says to me while not taking his eyes off the tv.

I crack a smile before slowly walking towards him. When I stand in front of him, he turns the tv off and looks up at me. We stare at each other for a few moments before I make the first move.

I take his beer and set it on the coffee table before sitting on my knees in front of him. He still doesn't take his eyes off me when I unzip his pants and pull out his erection. He leans his head back and softly moans when I take him into my mouth. He gently holds my head as I pleasure him with my mouth for a few minutes.

I pop him out of my mouth causing him to groan in protest. I stand up and slip off my sleep shorts and shirt and straddle him. We both moan as I sheath myself on his erection causing us both to moan louder with pleasure when I bounce up and down.

After we both reach our orgasms, I hide my face against his neck as he wraps me in his arms. He kisses the top of my head, and we just sit there holding each other for a few minutes before Christian breaks the comfortable silence.

"I'm sorry," he whispers.

"For what?" I say against his neck.

"For talking to you the way I did. I..I'm sorry baby. I didn't mean to yell at you," his voice cracks causing me to lean back and look at him.

I lean forward and peck him on the lips. "It's okay, Christian. I know you didn't mean it," I whisper against his lips.

"No, it's not okay. I shouldn't take my frustrations out on you. I know how much I have been distant with you here lately and I'm sorry," he says frustrated as he runs his hand through his hair.

"Christian, I understand, I really do. We just need to better communicate with each other. That's all," I shake my head and cup the side of his head.

He nods and gives me a small smile. "Everything is going to be okay right?"

"Everything is going to be okay. _We_ are going to be okay," I nod and kiss him once more.

He suddenly stands up with me in his arms, surprising me. I wrap my legs around his waist and arms around his neck as he carries me to our bedroom.

"It's time to reconnect with my wife, but first, I need a shower," he says against my lips causing me to giggle as he chuckles.

* * *

 _ **AN: Early weekend update. I will update the next chapter on Wednesday and it's a longer one. Next chapter we will meet Grace and Leila.**_

 _ **A question of all of you, would you all like updates twice a week, or keep the once a week update? I'm getting ahead on my writing and I have a good portion of them written, so I'm wondering what you all prefer. Let me know in the reviews. :)**_

 _ **Thank you for reading and reviewing.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_***Chapter contains sensitive topics***_

* * *

 _ **Ana**_

When Christian is fast asleep beside me, I carefully slip out of bed, so I don't wake him up and head towards the living room. I open the laptop and the light from the screen in the pitch-black living room causing me to squint my eyes for a few seconds. After my eyes adjust to the light of the computer, I click the search engine and type infertility issues into Google.

When the websites are loading, I gather up my hair into a messy bun and tie it with one of my hair ties. I clear my throat and click on one of the links that appear in the search which happens to be WebMD.

I bite my lip when I discover all the common reasons for infertility issues in women in my age group. I sigh when I read about all the symptoms of infertility and when it is appropriate to see a specialist for when trying to conceive.

"What are you doing?" Christian's voice behind me makes me jump.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, baby," he walks towards me and kisses my head.

"It's okay. I couldn't sleep," I sigh and make room for him on the office chair.

I get up, so he can sit down, but he places me on his lap instead. "Baby stop torturing yourself by researching this," he gestures towards the website that I was looking at.

"I know. I just can't help it," I sigh and lean my head against his chest.

"I understand, but you don't need to be on here. There is nothing wrong with you," he says firmly as he closes the computer.

"What if there is something wrong with me?" I murmur as I rub his arm.

"Try not to think about. There could be something wrong with me for all we know, I don't know, but right now, let's not worry about it. Just remember that I'm not going anywhere. We will work out whatever is wrong together. Okay?" he whispers against my ear.

"Okay. I love you, Christian," I smile and kiss his jaw.

"I love you too. Now let's go back to bed. We both have work tomorrow," he kisses my lips before picking me up and carries me towards our bedroom.

* * *

The last school bell rings signaling that the class period has ended. My students gather their papers and backpacks before rushing towards the door talking with their friends excitedly looking forward to their weekend off.

"Mrs. Grey? Can I get that rubric for our assignment next week?" One of my students, Jessica, asks before heading out the door.

"Yes, you may," I smile at her and hand her the rubric for the assignment.

"You have a good weekend, Jessica," I stand up and gather my belongings.

"You too Mrs. Grey, thanks," she smiles and walks out the door, paper in hand.

I turn towards the whiteboard behind me and erase the lesson from today before tidying up my desk. I grab my purse, the stack of papers for next week, and head out of my classroom.

The hallway is full of students as they grab their things from their lockers and walk towards the school's front doors. I spot one of the other teacher's classroom door open and decide to go say hello before going home.

I smile at Mrs. Trevelyan as she rearranges her classroom. I knock on the door causing her to stop what she is doing and look up towards me. She smiles and ushers me inside, her dark brown eyes sparkle as I shut the door.

"Ana. How are you, sweetheart?" she smiles warmly at me.

Grace Trevelyan is a sweet lady in her early 50's. She is the school's home economics teacher and has been working here for over fifteen years.

She and her husband, Carrick lives next door to us for the last three years. Carrick works as a Sous chef at a local restaurant in town. They have one child, a girl named Mia who is a Freshman in high school. The Trevelyan's are such friendly people, and Christian and I often spend time with them during the weekends.

Grace like herself had trouble conceiving a baby for a long time, and after ten years of trying and multiple miscarriages, they finally got pregnant with Mia.

Right now, I want to see if she can give me some advice. If anyone knows what it's like to want a baby, but not being able to have one, it's Grace.

"Not so good, actually. Can we talk for a second?" I sigh and twist my fingers in front of me.

"Sure. What's on your mind?" she puts down the utensils she was putting away and sits next to me.

"We are seeing a fertility specialist on Monday. I guess I'm just nervous," I sigh.

"What are you nervous about?" she murmurs as she rubs my back.

Grace and Carrick know our struggles with trying to conceive since last year. It was a relief to tell someone since we kept it to ourselves. Our families know we are trying, but they do not know what's going on beyond that.

"What if something is wrong?" I shrug and stare down at my fingers.

"What if there isn't?"

I shake my head and look at her sadly, "Why else can't we get pregnant? There must be something wrong."

"Honey, you don't know that for sure. I've been where you are. I know what it's like to not get pregnant right away and to think it's never going to happen, but you can't give up hope. I know it's hard not to think about the what if's, but you can't focus your energy on that right now. You need to think positive," she explains and takes my hand in hers.

I nod and give her a small smile. "Your right. Thank you, Grace."

"I'm always here if you want to talk. You can come over to the house whenever you want. Day or night. Okay?" she smiles.

"Okay. I better get going. I need to get home and start on dinner," I exhale as I get up from the desk.

"You have a good evening now. Good luck at the doctors on Monday. Just let us know if you need anything," she pats my hand before going to her desk.

"I will," I smile at her before I head towards the door.

* * *

"Mr. and Mrs. Grey come in, please," Doctor Greene ushers us into her office.

Christian and I sit down in the wingback chairs that face her desk. Christian grabs my hand while the doctor sits down at her desk and opens my medical file she has in front of her.

Doctor Greene is an older woman with reddish brown hair, and light brown eyes. Her red hair is in a tight bun on top of her head and her black rimmed glasses are perched on the tip of her nose. She removes her glasses before smiling.

"Thank you for coming in. I received your medical files from your regular gynecologist at your request of course. It says here that you have been trying to get pregnant for the last year with no success?" she replaces her glasses before gazing at us expectantly.

"That's correct," I murmur and Christian nods.

"I would like to do a few tests to see what is going on. First, I like to ask you some questions. Is that alright?" she asks politely.

"That's fine."

She nods, and says, "Is your menstrual cycle regular each month?"

"No, it's irregular. Sometimes I even miss a period," I murmur.

The doctor nods and continues to ask me questions about my cycle and what we have tried so far as conceiving goes. After she is done writing in our chart she looks up at us, "I would like to draw some blood and perform a pelvic exam as well as a physical exam. Is that okay?"

"Yes," we both agree.

"Great. Mr. Grey, I would also like for you to give us a semen sample as well while you're here. You can do that while I preform your wife's exam, or you can do it after. Whichever you prefer," she explains.

"It's okay. You go, ill be fine," I say to Christian and squeeze his hand.

He looks unsure for a moment, but I smile reassuringly at him to let him know that I will be okay on my own. He nods reluctantly and pecks me on the lips before he takes the offered cup from Doctor Greene. He then leaves, and I follow the doctor to another room for my exam, and after that, I get my blood taken.

* * *

It has been a few days since our first appointment at the fertility specialist. It is now Wednesday afternoon, and the doctor called to say our results were in and to have us come into the office to discuss the results.

Christian and I are now driving towards the doctor's office. He has been quiet since he picked me up from school which doesn't help my nerves.

"Are you okay?"

He sighs and takes his hand off the wheel to grab my hand. "Just work stuff. Nothing to worry about."

"What about work?" I frown.

He shakes his head and looks out of his window for a second before looking back to the road. He's quiet for a few minutes before he says, "There is a new garage that was just built down the street from ours. Apparently, they are our competitors. Business is just slow right now is all," he says tightly with a hint of anger in his voice.

I sigh and squeeze his hand. "I'm sure things will pick up soon. You guys shouldn't worry about that," I try to reassure him which doesn't help because he clenches his jaw and doesn't say anything.

The garage has been slower these last few months, and to hear that they are still having problems, is a little worrying, but I'm sure things will start to pick up for them soon. I would hate to see it go under on top of what we are going through. I know that shop means everything to his family and they would be devastated if it had to close.

Christian and Elliot grew up in that garage since his father, Thomas, opened it when they were toddlers. Ella helps in receptionist on Saturday's when the regular receptionist, Mary, takes some time off while she babysits her grandchildren. She also works as a full-time dental assistant during the week. I really do admire my mother-in-law for working so hard all week and giving up most of her weekend to help her husband's business.

I come out of my thoughts when Christian pulls up at the office. We both head inside and give our name to the receptionist.

"Ana Grey for Doctor Greene," I say to the blonde receptionist.

"Okay. It says here that you have a co-pay. Would you be able to pay for that today?" she asks politely.

"Sure," I say as I hand her my debit card.

She hands me back my card and tells us we can have a seat and they will be with us in a few minutes. I pick up a magazine and start to read as Christian looks down at his phone. I am about to start reading an article about breast cancer risks when someone taps me on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

I look up to see a young brunette dressed in a long pink maxi dress smiling down at me.

"No, go ahead," I smile.

She thanks me and sits down. She is obviously pregnant since she has her hand rubbing her small bump. I stare at her in envy for a few seconds before I continue reading the article, or at least try. Christian takes my hand and squeezes causing me to squeeze his hand back. I crack a smile seeing how well he knows me.

"Leila Williams," the girl sticks out her hand.

I smile and shake her hand, "Ana Grey. This is my husband, Christian."

"Nice to meet you both. Are you guys expecting?" she puts her purse down on the floor before smiling at me.

"No. We are actually here for fertility," I shake my head.

"Oh. I'm sorry," she says awkwardly looking down at the ground.

"It's fine," I smile tightly at her.

"I just moved here from Seattle," she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

She's very pretty and petite. She has shoulder length brown hair, blue eyes, and a kind smile.

"We went to Seattle on our honeymoon. We liked it. What do you do?" I turn more towards her and try to make conversation.

"I'm a math teacher. I just got a job at Twin Falls middle school a few days ago," she explains.

"Really? I work there. I'm a language arts teacher," I smile causing her to beam at me.

"That's cool. Well, I guess I'll see you next week then?" she smiles.

"Looks like it. It was nice to meet you," I say as the receptionist calls our name.

"You too," she waves at us.

"She seems nice," Christian whispers at me while we follow the nurse towards Doctor Green's office.

"She does," I agree and take his hand into mine.

"Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Grey, Please, Have a seat," Doctor Greene ushers us into her office.

We sit down, and she opens a file that is placed on her desk. She staples her fingers together in front of her before beginning. "We got your results back. First, Christian let's start with the semen sample you provided us. Your sperm count came back in the normal ranges, and there weren't any problems with motility that we could see," she explains, and we breathe a sigh of relief.

"Ana, your pelvic exam came back as normal, so that is good," she says, and I nod in relief.

"Your blood, however, revealed higher levels of androgens, which explains why you're having increased acne on your upper back as you described a few days ago. Higher levels of androgens mean that your ovaries don't release an egg during ovulation. Which could be a diagnosis of PCOS, which stands for Polycystic ovary syndrome," she says softly.

My eyes widen in panic and Christian does the same. "Now, don't panic. This condition does cause fertility problems, but it is treatable. What I want for you do first, is to start on a medication called Clomid, which helps with ovulation. You begin the medication on the first day of your menstrual cycle. If this doesn't work, there is another option you can consider, which is IVF, In-vitro Fertilization."

"I can send you home with some brochures on the options you both have since you want to become pregnant. I also want to discuss what you can do to treat the symptoms long term," she explains and hands us the brochures and my prescription for the Clomid.

We talk about our options for treatment for another twenty minutes before shaking the doctor's hand and leaving the office with our brochures in hand.

While in the car on our way home, Christian speaks, "What did you think?"

"I'm glad we finally found out what was wrong. I'm hoping this new medication helps," I sigh.

"It will baby. I'm sure we will get pregnant in no time," Christian kisses my hand.

I crack a smile and sit there and think how relieved I feel knowing that we might have a strong chance in getting pregnant here soon since we know for sure what is going on.

At least I hope.

* * *

 _ **AN: Here is the latest chapter. Thank you for all your responses on the updating schedule. I will now post twice a week (Sunday & Wednesday). If by some reason that schedule changes, I will let everyone know. **_

_**To start, I don't have any experience with PCOS or IVF and there are bound to be mistakes, so forgive me for the errors on information if you see any in the upcoming chapters.**_

 _ **Christian's POV starts next chapter and we will see a little bit of Carla and the introduction of her character.**_

 _ **Thank you so much for the feedback so far on this story. I have enjoyed writing it so far, and I hope you all continue to read and review.**_

 _ **Pinterest is under my username: PassionForGrey**_


	5. Chapter 5

_***Chapter contains sensitive topics***_

* * *

 _ **Four months later**_

 _ **Ana**_

My lip quivers when I stare down at the negative test that is sitting on our bathroom sink. Today I was due for my period, and when it didn't come this morning, I got excited and decided to take a pregnancy test. I wanted to surprise Christian when he got home from work if it were positive, but now looking at the negative one-line pregnancy test, it's not going to happen.

We have been taking the medication for four months now, and so far, it hasn't worked. Christian and I decided not to worry about having sex every day during my fertile period, but to just enjoy each other and the process of trying to make a baby. I didn't want to continue to stress out about it, so I thought this would help, but so far, it hasn't been a success.

I don't know why we are not getting pregnant. I know the Clomid is not a miracle pill, but I would have thought it would help me ovulate, but I guess that is not the case.

I wipe my eyes with my shirt sleeve and throw the test away in the bottom of the trashcan. I don't want Christian to automatically see it since he's been excited to see if we were pregnant this month. I hate disappointing him because I know he wants a baby as bad as I do.

 _What the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I give him the one thing he wants more than anything? Did we wait too long to have a baby? Was this even meant to be?_

All these thoughts run through my head as I stare up at the ceiling of our bedroom. I don't know what we are going to do if we don't become pregnant with the help of this medication.

Christian and I sat down a few months ago and went through our budget. If the Clomid doesn't work, our other option would be IVF, but it's expensive, and our savings only allows us to do one round. Our insurance doesn't cover the treatment, so we must pay out of pocket for it if we do decide on going that direction.

I know my mother and father would be happy to help, but we decided not to tell them what is going on because we don't want to ask for the money or have them pay for it. We want to do this ourselves, and we don't want to burden them with what is going on.

I take a deep breath and will the tears to back that threaten to fall once again. I sigh and stand in the middle of our bedroom and look around aimlessly.

Our bedroom is simple. White walls, hardwood floors, a king-sized bed, and a large plant placed in the corner of the room on Christian's sized of the bed. I walk towards the front of the bed and pick up one of Christian's shirts from the laundry basket and fold it and set it back into the basket.

I groan miserably. Even the dull task of folding laundry isn't taking my mind off our pregnancy struggles.

I place the clothes back in the basket and curl up on my side of the bed and try to not think about it anymore. I don't want to start crying again and have Christian see me so upset. He has enough on his plate right now, and I don't want to add to it.

* * *

 _ **Christian**_

"Christian, I don't know what we are going to do. At this rate, by this time next year, there won't be a business," Elliot sighs and rubs his forehead I frustration.

I bang my fist against the table and curse out loudly before pushing to my feet and pacing our small office.

"Christian, calm down man," Elliot snaps.

"I can't calm down. This is fucking bullshit," I shout and punch the wall.

Elliot sighs behind me when I lean on the wall with my hands. I hang my head in defeat and try to calm down.

I hate that this is happening to our family. When I first met Ana, the business was successful as ever. My father started this garage when we were little, and I grew up in this automotive shop. Dad wanted this business to be successful so that he can pass this garage down to his children and grandchildren and that's part of the reason why I can't wait until I have a child of my own.

When Ana and I first got married, I wanted to tell her that I was already ready to have children, but she wanted to wait a few years before we started trying. Months and then years went by, and before we knew it, we both woke up one day and decided that we were ready to start a family. Not in a million years would we think that it would be this hard in making a baby.

I want more than anything to have a child with my wife. I just hope that this new medication has worked and was pregnant this month. I sure can use some good news right now.

My head jerks up when I remember that Ana's period is due today and she is planning on taking a test. _Did she take one yet?_ I turn around and run my hand down my face.

"I got to head home. Ana's waiting."

I take a cigarette out of the pack and place it between my lips. I offer one to Elliot, and he takes one and lights it. "I thought you quit," he says after he exhales.

I shrug, "I did."

Elliot leans back and puts his feet on the table, "What does the wife say about that?"

"She hates it," I murmur as I pick up my wallet, keys, and phone.

He chuckles, "Say hi to my favorite girl, would ya?" he asks before finishing his cigarette. I finish mine and nod at him before walking out the door.

* * *

"Ana," I call out to my wife when I walk into the front door.

The house is silent as I take off my boots and dirty t-shirt. I throw the shirt in the dirty clothes basket by the laundry room before heading towards our bedroom.

I find Ana curled up on our bed asleep. I smile and walk towards her and kiss her shoulder and just stand there and watch her sleep for a few minutes. I kiss her shoulder again before stepping into the bathroom to take a shower.

After my shower, I dry off and head towards the mirror to start shaving. I look around the sink, and I don't see my shave cream. I crouch down and open the cabinet to try to find it, but something in the trashcan catches my eye.

I frown and see an empty pregnancy box in the trash. My eyes widen, and my lips form into a smile when I remember she was supposed to take a test today. I look towards the bed to see her still asleep. I turn back around and decide not to wake her to find out the results.

Feeling like a dumbass, I look through the trash and spot the test at the bottom. I hesitate for a second before shaking my head and picking up the test with my thumb and forefinger. I take a deep breath before turning the test around, and my eyes slowly fall closed at the negative result.

I sigh and bang my head on the cabinet in disappointment. I instantly regret it when I hear Ana groan on the bed. I hurriedly place it back in the trash and get up off the floor.

I turn around as she sits up on the bed. Her tired eyes find mine, and she smiles, but immediately her expression falls when she see's my obvious disappointment on my face.

"You saw the test, didn't you?" she whispers.

"I'm sorry, baby," I sigh and take the towel off my waist.

She nods and leans against the pillows. I decide not to shave and go to my wife's side instead. I turn off the bathroom light and get into bed.

She curls up on my side and kisses my chest. "I hate this," her voice cracks causing me to close my eyes.

"I know baby. Me too," I hold her tightly and kiss her hair repeatedly.

I crack a smile when I smell the heavenly smell of chamomile from her shampoo causing me to nuzzle her neck. I lean back, and she stares at me with her big blue eyes. Her eyes were the first thing that I noticed about her when we first met.

I was on my break that day I saw her in town. After getting a bite to eat at the local diner, I walked down the block before leaning against a random building to have a smoke.

I saw her driving slowly down the street, and I remember frowning when I saw her yell out in frustration when her car stopped in front of me.

When she stepped out of the car that first time, I was enchanted by her natural beauty. I've had my fair share of pretty girls after high school. None of them held my interest, and I didn't want anything serious with any of them. They were good looking, but none of them held a candle in the looks department than her.

Ana was different. Immediately, I could imagine a future with her that I never could with any other girl in the past.

After waking up that first night after we made love, I knew she was the girl I was going to end up with. She was the one, and I vowed that day that I would love her wholeheartedly forever.

"Make love to me, Christian. Make me forget about that test," she whispers as she kisses down my chest breaking me out of my trip down memory lane.

I flip her over on her back and make love to her for the next few hours.

* * *

 _ **Two months later**_

 _ **Ana**_

"So, the Clomid hasn't been successful so far. Would you like to discuss other options? Or continue with the medication?"

We are in Doctor Greene's office a few months later. The medication didn't work out as we hoped, so we made an appointment with the specialist to see what further options we had.

"Christian and I wanted to talk about the IVF, and see if we can start that process?" I ask nervously.

"Of course, we can talk about that right now," she smiles and starts to go through the process.

An hour later, we have talked through the process of symptoms, side effects, and payment plan. First, I need to start on another fertility medication, a blood test, and an ultrasound to check my hormone levels. Next, we would need to do the egg retrieval; Christian provides the doctor another semen sample and then we do the insemination before the fertilized egg is transferred into my uterus. If all goes to plan, we would see the egg implant within ten days of the procedure.

The process sounds nerve-wracking, but hopefully, within a month and a half, we will have our baby, hopefully.

After making our first appointment with the specialist, we leave the office hand in hand, both hopeful that the procedure is successful.

* * *

"Honey?" I hear my mother enter our house fifteen minutes after I get home from work.

"In here!" I call out from my bedroom wondering why she is here.

When I put my necklace in my jewelry box, my mother comes walking into the room. She is wearing a black pencil skirt, a long white silk polka dot blouse, and black heels. Her brunette hair is in loose waves, and her makeup is neutral.

My mother is a family lawyer and owns her own law firm. It looks like she had just gotten out of her office.

"Hi, honey," she smiles and walks over to kiss me on the cheek.

"Hi. What are you doing here?" I frown and sit down on my bed to take off my flats.

"I just wanted to see how you are. I haven't heard from you in a few days. You know how much I worry about you, honey," she sits down next to me and runs her hand down my back.

Mom has always been very protective of her only daughter. Growing up she has always been my best friend, and I love her dearly. She was one of those parents who would drop everything, work included, to spend time with me and come to my school events.

She has always had a big career, but she was never one of those parents who only saw her child for an hour a day or had a nanny who was more of a mother than she was. She is the kind of mother that I want to become for my own child.

I am grateful to have such a wonderful mother.

"I know mom. Things have been hectic these last few weeks," I sigh.

We have been going to numerous appointments with our IVF procedure, and we are waiting for the last step of the process. In about a month, we should find out if we are pregnant or not.

"How has IVF going?" She asks gently as he runs her hand through my hair.

"Stressful. I hope it works because Christian and I can only afford one round of treatment," I sigh and look down at the floor.

She hesitates for a few seconds before sighing. "Honey, you know your father, and I would be more than happy to help. I know you said no before, but we want you to reconsider," she bites her lip.

"Mom, we don't want your money. Please, we want to be able to do this ourselves. Christian and I wouldn't feel right taking your money," I sigh and rub my forehead.

"Ana, I know that, but we want to help," she practically begs to cause me to groan.

"Mom, no. I appreciate the offer, thank you, though," I take her hand in mine and squeeze.

She sighs and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, the offer still stands when you need it. Your father and I are here. Please, remember that" she hugs me, and I hug her back tightly.

I love my mother. She has always wanted the best for me, and I appreciate that they want to help us out.

My father owns his own construction business, and he has always installed in me the importance of family and arduous work. I know that this whole baby thing is the hardest obstacle we have gone through, but I'm grateful to have our parents support and to see that they will be there when we need them the most.

My mom leans back, and we talk for a few moments before she leaves after I promise her that Christian and I will come over for dinner sometime this week.

* * *

 _ **AN: Here is the next chapter. I did some previous research on IVF and PCOS when I first started writing, but there still could be mistakes. I understand that this is a sensitive topic for some, so I will not go into too much detail, and I will also note at the beginning of the chapter.**_

 _ **Thank you all for the continued support, and please don't forget to review. It really encourages me to keep writing.**_

 _ **I hope you all have a good Memorial Day.**_

 _ **Pinterest is under my username: PassionForGrey**_


	6. Chapter 6

_***Chapter contains sensitive topics***_

* * *

 _ **Ana**_

"I'm nervous, Christian," I fidget in my seat.

Christian and I are at the doctor's office sitting in front of Doctor Greene's desk, waiting for the results. It has been a few weeks since the embryo transfer, and today we find out if we are pregnant or not. I came into the office a few days ago to get a blood test, and the results have just come back this morning.

The procedure was really draining, and our savings is now gone. I hope that the method was successful because we can't afford to do another round of treatment.

"I know, baby. Me too," Christian gives me a small smile and squeezes my hand.

Doctor Greene walks into her office twenty minutes later. She sits down at her desk and gives us a small sympathetic smile. My hopes suddenly fall as well as Christian's when we see her tenderhearted expression.

"I have just received the results of your blood test, and unfortunately, it was negative. I'm very sorry. We do have another option to continue another embryo transfer and of course, we have the payment plan if that is something you want to talk about?" she explains politely.

Christian lets my hand go and leans forward and stares down at his lap dejected. All the time money we have put into this treatment, it didn't work, and it was all for nothing.

I whimper, and my head falls forward as my tears flow down my cheeks. Doctor Greene stops talking when she sees me crying and explains softly that she will give us a moment alone. On her way out, she gives my shoulder a gentle squeeze before closing the door softly.

Christian takes me into his arms as I cover my face with my hands as my tears continue to flow down my cheeks. He tries to whisper in my ear that everything is going to be alright, but right now, I don't know if it's ever going to be.

* * *

 _ **Two days later**_

It has been a few days since we found out the embryo transfer wasn't successful and to say I am heartbroken, would be an understatement. We left Doctor Greene's office after about an hour of going over the other options we have available to us. We can't afford anything else other than taking the Clomid again or just stop trying to conceive all together for a while.

After several days of constant tears from both of us, and over an hour of discussion, Christian and I decided to take some time off from trying. We both can't handle any more disappointment, and we just want to put this behind us for the time being and just concentrate on other things.

Doctor Greene suggested we continued further treating my PCOS and gave me the option of starting birth control, but I declined. I just want to forget about pregnancy and having a baby for awhile.

Christian also agreed since he still has been having troubles at work, and he has been more stressed out because of it. I'm worried about him because he's been getting home late these last few days and when I try to talk to him about it, he blows it off and says it just usual work stuff.

The last school bell rings, and the students pile out of the room. I sigh and pack up my belongings, turn off the light and leave my classroom.

I see the new math teacher, Leila, in the hallway talking to one of her students. She spots me in the hallway and waves before saying goodbye to the student. She smiles at me as she heads towards me. I stare in longing at her pregnant belly for a second before shaking my head and smiling at her. _Get a grip!_

Leila and I have been talking ever since I met her at the doctors' office. She is actually a very sweet girl. She was at the doctor's office to see her friend, Kate, who she met a few days after she moved here. Kate was one of the nurses that works in Doctor Greene's office. Leila introduced us, and the three of us have been friends ever since.

Leila moved here from Seattle because the father of her baby broke up with her when she found out she was pregnant. He didn't want anything to do with her or the baby, so she decided she needed a fresh start, and wanted to move somewhere else. She received the job offer at the school a few months later when the original math teacher, Sarah, moved due to her husband's job transferred them to Germany.

Kate has become a good friend as well. Leila met Kate in town one afternoon after she moved here and has been friends since. Kate and her family moved to North Bend the summer after I went off to college, and she attended nursing school and moved back here a few years later.

Kate has a bubbly personality with her big green eyes and strawberry blonde hair. I confided in her a few weeks ago about our fertility struggle and as a nurse she gives me advice when I need it, and a shoulder to cry on when I am feeling down. She is really turning out to be a good friend which I could use right now with everything going on in our personal life.

* * *

 _ **Christian**_

I park my truck in the school's parking lot. I wanted to surprise Ana by picking her up from work and taking her out to dinner.

It's been incredibly stressful with all this pregnancy stuff; I wanted to try to get her mind off everything that has been going on. The garage is still struggling, so I'm also looking forward to a nice evening out.

I sigh and finish off my cigarette before flicking it out the window. I get out of my truck and look around the parking lot to see multiple parents waiting for their kids to get out of school. Several women stare at me while they are parked in line waiting for their kids to walk out. Some of them wave and some blatantly check out my ass as I walk by causing me to roll my eyes slightly.

I'm not wearing my usual work clothes. Instead, I threw on a pair of nice jeans and a black button-up shirt. My long hair is slicked back with gel, and I'm clean shaven. I know Ana is going to do a double take when she sees me since she loves my usual stubble, white shirt, and dirty jeans. It's not every day that I get dressed up unless for a special occasion or a date night, which haven't been a regular occurrence here lately. I would like to change that by taking out my wife more often.

Kids walk past me as I head down the hallway towards my wife's classroom. Leila, I think her name is, comes walking out of Ana's door staring down at her watch. She see's me causing her to smile and wave. I nod at her as she walks towards me.

"Hi, Christian. Ana is just talking to one of her students about a paper. She didn't tell me you were dropping by?" she explains as she rubs her stomach.

I look down at her hand that is busy rubbing her baby bump causing me to swallow thickly. "Yeah, she doesn't know I'm here. Want to surprise her with dinner," I clear my throat.

"That's sweet. I'm sure she will love that," she smiles and tucks her hair behind her ears.

"Hope so," I smile tightly at her. We stand there in awkward silence for a few seconds before she breaks the silence.

"Oh, hey. Listen, I know you are a mechanic. I'm having trouble with my car here lately, is there any way you can look at it for me? Ana said you wouldn't mind?" she said while nervously twisting her fingers in front of her.

I clear my throat again and nod at her. "Sure. You can drop it by the garage, or I can come to you. Whichever you prefer."

"Thank you. I can drop it off at the garage, that's no problem. I know there is a newer one in town, but I prefer the local businesses instead of those bigger corporate ones," she rolls her eyes.

I give her a small smile. "Well, we truly appreciate your business. I have a spot available this Saturday or Monday," I mentally go through my schedule for the next few days.

"I don't have too much to do this weekend, so Saturday is perfect. Noon okay?" she beams.

"That's fine. I'll see you then," I smile back and run my hand through my hair.

"Great. Thank you, I really appreciate you looking at it. It's been driving me nuts," she says in relief, and I nod my head.

She suddenly clutches her stomach causing me to touch her arm in concern reactively. "Are you okay?"

"Oh my, God. I think the baby just kicked," she says up at me in shock.

My eyes widen and look towards her stomach. She suddenly giggles and cups her bump. "She did it again. She kicked," she beams up at me, and I can't help but smile.

"I'm sorry. This is the first time I felt something. Oh, my, that was a strong one," she giggles again and rubs her stomach.

Before I know what, I'm doing, I blurt out, "May I?" I point towards her stomach.

She looks up at me and smiles. "Of course, you can," she smiles and places my hand on her belly.

My eyes widen in wonder when I feel a slight kick against my hand. I look at her stomach in awe and smile softly when the baby kicks my hand again. "Wow," I say mesmerized by the several little kicks against my palm.

* * *

 _ **Ana**_

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Grey," Miranda smiles at me in relief when I finish explaining a question she had on one of her papers.

"Your welcome. I'll see you on Monday," I smile and gather my things; so that I can leave for the day.

She opens the door and walks out, but before it can close, I suddenly hear Christian's voice coming from the hallway. I smile in surprise and hurriedly grab my things from my desk and walk out of my classroom but stop in my tracks when I see Christian's hand on Leila's belly.

They are smiling at each other as he continues to rub her stomach. She laughs when Christian says something to her, and he shakes his head in amusement. I look towards the floor and try not to start crying when I see the longing in Christian's eyes when he stares at her stomach.

I try to compose myself, and after a few moments, I clear my throat and walk toward them. Christian is the first to look up. He immediately takes his hand off her stomach and stares at me guiltily. I smile slightly at him before looking over at Leila.

"Hey. Ana, the baby, finally kicked," she beams at me and places my hand on her stomach where Christian's hand was.

After a few minutes of not feeling anything, she shrugs anxiously at me, and I stare at the floor in embarrassment.

"Well, thanks again, Christian. I will see you on Saturday. By Ana, I'll see you on Monday," she hugs me tightly for a few seconds, before walking down the hallway.

"I'm fixing her car," Christian explains when I stare at him questionably.

I nod and remember she was having trouble with her car this week and needed someone to look at it for her, so I said that Christian wouldn't mind checking it out for her.

Christian walks up to me and kisses me softly on the lips. "Hi. I thought I'd come and surprise you. Dinner out sound good to you?" he tucks a stay hair behind my ear.

I give him a small smile and peck his lips. "I would love that. Thank you," I straighten out his shirt and chuckle. "You clean up good, Mr. Grey."

"Thank you, Mrs. Grey. Let's go," he smiles and offers me his arm.

I smile and put my arm through his, and together we walk towards his truck. My smile slips slightly from my face when I think back to earlier. I know he wasn't doing anything wrong or doing anything to make me think that something is going on. I just can't help but feel jealous and insecure, not because I think he is going to cheat on me, but the sadness and longing he had in his eyes when he was staring down at her stomach, or when he sees someone who is pregnant.

I can't seem to give him a child we both so desperately want, and that is what kills me a little more inside every day.

* * *

 _ **AN: Here is the latest chapter. Thank you all for the reviews for the last chapter. Please, keep them coming!**_

 _ **Thank you all for reading and reviewing. See you on Sunday.**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Christian**_

"Christian, honey?" my mother puts her hand on my shoulder causing me to stiffen.

I am sitting here at my desk with my head in my hands trying to calm down after looking at the books for the week. Business has continued to decrease, and it's taking a toll on all of us. I know my father is pissed about the new corporate business down the street. Dad almost got into a fistfight with the new owner a few days ago due to that smug bastard who came over to gloat about the increase in his business. That dickhead was lucky I wasn't here, because I would have beaten that mother fucker's ass.

"Yeah?" I sit up and sigh.

"Your next appointment is here. She said her name is Leila Williams?" she murmurs as she runs her hand down my back.

"That's right, it's Saturday," I nod and get up from my seat.

Mom stands in front of me and grips my chin. "It's going to work out Christian. Stop stressing so much," she murmurs.

"I can't mom. I'm worried about the sales decrease," I try to get out of her grip, but she doesn't let me move.

"I'm not talking about work. I'm talking about you and Ana," she quirks an eyebrow.

"Mom, don't," I grumble while I lean my head back and move past her.

She stares at me with concern, but I ignore her and leave my office that I share with Elliot.

I grit my teeth in irritation when I walk out of the office towards the garage, but then crack a smile when I spot her looking out of place in her converse sneakers and blue overalls that show off her bump.

Leila Williams stands by her black Kia Forte looking around the garage in curiosity while both her hands cradling her stomach.

"Leila," I nod at her.

"Hey! Thanks for looking at my car," she smiles and takes off her sunglasses.

"No problem. Can you tell me what it's doing?" I open her driver's side door so that I can pop open the hood.

"The air conditioning is making noises. It still blows cold air; it's just every time I turn it on, it makes a funky noise," she explains in frustration while I look under her hood.

I nod and chuckle at her choice of words. I tell her that she can go and sit in the reception area while I work on her car. She nods gratefully and walks off where my mother is helping another customer.

I whistle to Eddie, another mechanic, to come and help. While I wait for him to walk over, I get tools ready and lay them out on the floor. I turn my head towards the direction of the office and see Leila and my mother laughing and conversating. I shake my head in amusement when my mother animatedly talks with her while waving her hands in the direction of the garage.

Leila giggles and rubs her stomach while she looks in my direction. She waves, and I wave back. Mom smiles at me before saying something to Leila casing her to nod her head happily. Mom places her hand on her stomach and beams up at her. I can see mom's expression of wonder and awe that clearly shows on her face when she gently pats her belly.

I swallow thickly and turn away. I know my mother was excited that Ana and I were trying to get pregnant. I still remember how excited she was to learn that she might be a grandmother someday soon. When it didn't happen, I could see the compassion in her eyes when I told her we were having trouble conceiving. I know mom had difficulty having another baby after Elliot was born, so I knew she would understand the pain and disappointment I feel as well as my wife.

I shake my head and try to push the thought of having a baby out of my mind. I need to get my shit together. I sigh and nod at Eddie as he looks under the hood.

It takes us about an hour to fix her air conditioning, and when I am finished, I wipe my oily hands on a towel and walk over to the front office, leaving Eddie to finish up. I shake my head when I see Elliot making the moves on Leila. She giggles at something he says causing him to chuckle and take out a cigarette. My eyes widen and hurriedly walked over to where they are both standing.

"Elliot don't light that. She is pregnant you idiot," I snap.

"Oh, my bad. Sorry, habit," his eyes widen as he stares down at her stomach.

"No, it's okay. No worries," she shrugs.

"Your car is ready," I say continuing to wipe my hands on the towel.

"Great," she beams and heads over to the counter where my mother is finishing up her paperwork.

"So pregnant huh?" he nods over at Leila who is now paying after looking down at the invoice.

"Yeah, why?" I frown.

"Nothing. Just didn't think about that. If I did, I wouldn't have tried to hit on her," he shrugs and places the cigarette in his mouth.

I roll my eyes and sigh. "The father is not in the picture."

"Huh. Do you know why?" he crosses his arms over his chest.

"Ana said something about the father didn't want anything to do with her or the baby," I explain.

"What a dick," he huffs and lights his cigarette.

I nod and pat him on the shoulder before walking towards them. "Thank you for your business. Congratulation on your baby." my mother smiles at Leila.

"Thank you. You have a good weekend," Leila smiles and turns her head towards me when I stand beside her.

"I can't thank you enough for helping me out," she bites her lip as she puts her wallet away.

"No problem. I'll take you to your car," I walk towards the garage, and she follows behind me after getting her receipt.

I give her the keys, and she smiles politely at me before getting into her car and turning on the engine. I stand there with my hands in my jean pockets while she rolls her window down and smiles over at me.

"Tell Ana hi for me. Thanks again," she waves before backing out of the garage and driving away.

I stand there and watch her car drive down the street and out of sight. I run my hand through my hair and walk back towards the back office.

* * *

Ana is cooking dinner when I return home later in the evening. I take off my boots and dirty shirt. I place them both by the door and head towards the kitchen.

Ana is chopping vegetables and humming to a song that is playing on the little tv that we keep on the kitchen counter. I lean against the doorway and observe her carefully chopping some onions and green peppers. I smile when I see her wearing her long pink off the shoulder sweater, a lacy camisole and short white shorts. Her hair is up in a tight bun on top of her head, and her face is free of makeup.

Ana has always been a great cook, and if she wasn't a teacher, she could definitely be a successful chef like Carrick is who lives next door.

I walk towards her causing her to stop chopping and look up. She smiles when she sees me.

"Hey, you."

"Hello, beautiful," I smile and hop on the counter to give her a kiss.

"How was your day?" I hop back down and walk towards the refrigerator and pull out a beer.

"It was good. Did you fix Leila's car?" she asks before continuing to shop the onions.

"Yeah, it was her air conditioning. Do you want a beer?" I turn my head towards her.

"Yes, please," she smiles over at me before going back to chopping.

I take two bud lights out of the fridge and hand one to her. She puts the knife down and opens her beer before taking the chopped veggies and throwing them into a heated pan. I twist the cap off and chug it down and savor the flavor as it slides down my throat.

Ana leaves the vegetables to cook and walks towards me. She smiles before wrapping her arms around my neck. I put my beer down on the counter and put my hands on her hips. I lean forward and give her a chaste kiss without closing my eyes. She stands on her tippy toes and kisses my nose and cheeks.

We just stand there and stare into each other's eyes in silence for a few minutes. She hums in contentment before resting her forehead against mine. I love these little moments with my wife, just swaying in each other's arms in comfortable silence.

"I love you," she murmurs.

"I love you too. I need to take a shower. I would say join me, but your cooking," I sigh and let her go.

She pouts and kisses me once more before heading back to the stove. "Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes," she looks over her shoulder before taking out the other ingredients.

"Okay baby," I say before heading to our bathroom to take a quick shower.

* * *

 _ **AN: Happy Sunday!**_

 _ **Just to reiterate because many of you were curious; Christian will NOT cheat on Ana with Leila. She will be a good character and a good friend to Ana in this story. Also, a reviewer asked what is Leila's purpose in this story?**_

 _ **Having Christian cheat on his wife with her or have her go all psycho because she wants him for herself is not the reason.**_

 _ **In the past, I've had my own pregnancy struggles, and during that time, I had friends and family who were pregnant and celebrating the birth of their children. I want this story to be realistic in a way to show that even though Ana and Christian are struggling to have a baby, there are going to be others around them who are going to have the one thing they want more than anything. Leila is Ana's good friend, there will be drama with her character, but not with Ana or Christian. That will be coming in later chapters.**_

 _ **Also, I don't want to drag out their pregnancy struggles, but then again, I want to try to be realistic, so in regard to Ana finally getting pregnant? It's going to be an emotional rollercoaster that unfortunately many couples go through when trying to conceive like C &A will have. I will tell you that they will have an HEA. **_

_**Thank you for the reviews of the last chapter. Please keep them coming.**_

 _ **Thank you for reading. See you all on Wednesday.**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Christian**_

Elliot and I are sitting in our office taking a break. There is only one car being worked on right now, so there isn't a whole lot for us to do. Elliot is on the phone talking to god knows who while I lean back in my chair with my feet up on my desk staring up towards the ceiling.

"Fuck no, Mark. Let that asshole take care of it," Elliot all but snaps into the phone while putting his own feet up on his own desk.

I sigh and light another cigarette in boredom. Elliot continues talking on the phone while I smoke my cigarette. I blow out the smoke while staring at the ceiling fan for a few minutes before hearing my phone vibrate in my pocket. With my cigarette between my lips, I lift my hips off the chair and grab my phone out of my pocket and look at the screen. It's a text with an unknown number causing me to frown.

I open the text message icon, and my lips lift into a smile when I see who it's from.

 _ **Leila:**_ _Hey! Ana gave me your number, I hope that is okay? I was texting Ana to see if she knew a reliable contractor in town? She said your family knows a few of them, and I wanted to know if you can give me their number? I wanted to fix up one of my guest rooms for the baby. If that's not too much trouble?_

I text her back after thinking it over for a few minutes.

 _ **C:**_ _I know a couple, but they are quite expensive. What is your budget?_

I look up from my phone after I press send and see that Elliot is still on the phone. He rolls his eyes and points to his phone in irritation. I nod and crack a smile before I lean back in my chair. I put my feet down on the floor and finish my cigarette before throwing it in the ashtray. I pick up my phone again when I hear the ping of a text.

 _ **Leila:**_ _Around five-hundred maybe?_

 _ **C:**_ _What do you want to do exactly?_

 _ **Leila:**_ _Mostly paint and maybe redoing the closet to add extra space._

I sit there and ponder what I should tell her. The paint is probably going to be around three hundred and depending on how big the closet is, five hundred dollars won't accurately cover the total. My eyes narrow in thought. _Maybe I can help her out?_ The contractors would probably charge double for what she wants to have done.

I hit the back button on my phone and hit Ana's name to text her my thoughts. I don't want to offer to do Leila's bedroom without Ana knowing.

 _ **C:**_ _Can you talk?_

Her text comes through two minutes later.

 _ **Ana:**_ _Sure, I'll call you._

Ana calls me about ten seconds later. "Hey, baby."

"Hey. What's going on?" I hear papers being shuffled in the background.

"I'm sorry, babe, are you busy?" I frown.

"No. I'm between classes. It's fine, honey. What's on your mind?"

I tell her about Leila and her wanting to redo one of her bedrooms for a nursery and how much it's going to cost versus what she is willing to pay. I ask her if she has any objections to me going over there and helping her out instead of calling the contractor.

"I think that is a great idea. I mean Jerry will probably charge her double for what she wants to do," she repeats my thoughts exactly.

"That's what I was thinking. So, you don't have any problems with it?" I double check just to make sure.

"No, not at all. It's great that you want to help her out. She probably doesn't need to spend all that money on paint and a closet," she sighs.

"Alright. I'll let you go so you can get back to work. I love you," I smile causing Elliot to roll his eyes.

"I love you too. See you at home," she murmurs before hanging up.

I open back up the texts and type out a message to Leila.

 _ **C:**_ _I would be more than happy to come and do the work instead of you hiring someone. The contractors will pay double for what you had in mind. Would that be okay?_

It takes her a few minutes to respond. By the time she texts back, Elliot is finished with his call and is looking at me with curiosity.

 _ **Leila:**_ _Are you sure? I don't want to inconvenience you. I mean you already fixed my car for me._

 _ **C:**_ _It's fine, honestly. I would be happy to help._

 _ **Leila:**_ _Okay, well thank you! Is this Saturday okay for you?_

 _ **C:**_ _That's fine._

We text back and forth the details on paint colors and what she is looking for in the closet renovation. After ten minutes, she tells me she needs to get back to her classroom since her next class is starting soon. I text back that I will see her this weekend and she thanks me once again before I put my phone back in my jeans pocket.

Elliot narrows his eyes at me when I look up at him.

"What?" I frown.

He leans back in his chair and says, "Was that Ana?"

"No. Leila. I'm helping her with some renovations to her house. She wants to have the baby's nursery painted," I shake my head and take out another cigarette.

He exhales from his own cigarette before speaking, "Is Ana okay with that? You spending time with another woman?"

"She knows, and I'm not spending time with her. I'm helping her out with a bedroom. You know how much Jerry charges," I roll my eyes, and he shrugs.

He jabs the cigarette in the ashtray before getting to his feet and stretching.

"I'll hit up your place this weekend. Keep her company," he runs his hand through his hair and looks around the garage before sitting down again.

"Do me a favor and take her out somewhere this weekend. I don't want her to be bored all Saturday. I'll come and meet ya' in the evening when I'm done," I stand up from my chair, and put a few finished invoices in the file cabinet that's behind my desk.

Elliot is about to speak but is cut off when we hear our father shouting in the front of the garage. Elliot shoots up from his chair and spits out, "Mother fucker," Before throwing open the door and running out the door.

I slam the file cabinet closed and run out of the office behind him. I feel my face grow red in anger when I see that son of a bitch, Richard Lincoln, who owns that new garage down the street. He is in my father's face talking shit while my mother is trying to pull my father back. My eyes narrow in question when I see a tall blonde woman in fire red heels, standing off to the side, staring at them in amusement. _Who the fuck is that?_

When mom sees's Elliot charging towards dad and Lincoln, she takes her hands-off dads chest and pushes Elliot away, so he can't intervene.

"Elliot, no. Tom that is enough," mom snaps over her shoulder.

Elliot glares down at the guy while mom keeps her hands on his chest. Dad fumes down at him while the smug bastard back up. There is a small crowd gathering outside the garage, curious to see what the commotion is.

I walk up to the dick and growl at him. "I suggest you get the hell out of my family's garage before my brother gets hold of you."

Mom shrieks in surprise when Elliot picks her up around her waist and moves her aside before stomping over to the asshole. Dad pulls him back in time before he can punch him. The prick narrows his eyes at Elliot before walking back slowly.

"Let's go, Elena," He growls at the blonde woman before stomping out of the garage and down the street. She smirks right at me before turning around and following him, her ridiculously high heels echoing off the floor causing me to cringe. Right before she gets to Linc's garage, she looks over her shoulder and winks at me before disappearing into the garage.

I narrow my eyes in disgust for a few seconds before turning around to face my family. "You should have let me at him," Elliot points down the street in irritation before turning around and heading back towards our office.

Mom sighs and rubs her arms before walking over to dad and putting a hand on the side of his face in concern.

"I'm okay, angel," he murmurs softly before giving her a kiss.

I sigh before running a hand down my face and walking towards them. Mom turns towards me so that I can kiss her on the forehead. "Go, honey. Go home to your wife. Well see you tomorrow," she gives me a small smile and cups the side of my face.

I nod as she lets me go and stands aside so I can walk to the office. Dad pats me on the back before I hop into my truck.

* * *

"What are you thinking about?" Ana whispers up at me while we are in bed later that night.

I'm laying on my back, my arms under my head, staring up at the ceiling. Ana is laying beside me on her side staring at me while she rubs my chest softly.

"Finances," I sigh.

"We're going to be okay, Christian," she leans over and kisses my neck.

I turn my head towards her and see her staring at me lovingly. "I hope so. She garage is still going to shit. Savings are gone," I clench my jaw as I turn my head back towards the ceiling.

Ana is quiet for a few minutes before whispering, "Do you regret doing the IVF?"

I shake my head and sigh. "No. I don't regret it, Ana. I just wish it didn't cost that much, especially when we didn't get what we wanted in the end."

"I know. It's going to be okay," she reiterates hesitantly.

I don't know if she is trying to convince herself or me. Before she can say anything else, I swiftly turn my body and hover over her and smash my lips against hers. I don't want to talk any more about money or the fact that we are still baby less. I want to fuck my wife and forget about our troubles for one night.

I sit up and swiftly pull down her nightgown and grab her bare breasts. She moans as I roughly squeeze them and pinch her nipples. She looks up at me and bites her lip. "Take me, Christian. Fuck me."

I groan and lean up and flip her on her stomach and push her legs up, so she is on all fours. I pull her nightgown up to her upper back and make sure she is ready before swiftly thrusting into her pussy. She pants and moans while I pound into her repeatedly.

We fuck, make love and then fuck again well into the early morning before I finally fall asleep in the arms of my wife.

* * *

 _ **AN: Happy Wednesday!**_

 _ **Thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter. The next chapter is one of my favorites. I wanted to warn you all beforehand that Elliot will be very OOC in this story, and you will see that in the next chapter.**_

 _ **Elena and Linc will not have a huge part in this story just in case you all were wondering from this chapter.**_

 _ **Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Please, keep them coming. See you on Sunday. XO**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Ana**_

I finish straightening my hair before getting dressed in a pair of green shorts, a loose black camisole and a pair of sandals. It's Saturday, and I am getting ready for a day out with Elliot since Christian is painting over at Leila's today.

I'm just finishing putting my Chapstick on when the doorbell rings. I hurriedly move towards the front door and open it to reveal Elliot leaning against the doorframe with a cigarette hanging from his lips.

I roll my eyes at him when he finishes it and flicks it behind him.

"Buttercup," he smiles and walks forward and gives me a big hug.

In the first year of Christian and I's relationship, I made a cake for Elliot's birthday that was made with my homemade buttercream frosting. Elliot loved it so much, he nicknamed me buttercup and calls me that every time he sees me.

He lifts me off the floor while he hugs me causing me to giggle. He kisses my cheek as he sets me down.

"Ready to have a day of fun?" he walks towards the couch and flops down on the cushions.

"Yes. I need it," I sigh and follow him to the couch after I closed the door.

He puts his arms along the back of the couch and looks at me in concern. "What's on your mind buttercup?" he pats the spot next to him.

I crack a smile and sit beside him so that he can put his arm around me. Elliot has always been an affectionate person. It took me awhile to get used to his personality because he can sometimes be too overly-affectionate, but as time went on, I found out that's just how he is. He's the youngest, so Ella always coddled him to death, but still loved both her children equally.

Elliot is very sensitive, loyal, and sometimes shy person, but he's the best brother-in-law I can ask for. He is going to make a wonderful husband and father someday, and whoever ends up with him, will be a very lucky lady.

"I'm just worried about Christian. He's upset and angry about what is going on at work," I sigh and lean my head against his chest.

Elliot sighs and kisses the side of my head. "Don't worry about that, buttercup. Everything is going to be fine. Every business has its problems, but we will all get through it."

"That's what I told him," I roll my eyes.

"Well, you know he can be stubborn sometimes," he chuckles.

I nod and a sigh once more before tapping Elliot's thigh and getting up from the sofa. "You sure that's everything?" he narrows his eyes at me.

I shrug and walk towards the kitchen to get my things, and he follows behind me. I open my purse and make sure I have my phone and keys to the house. Elliot brings his arms around me and traps me against the counter.

"Buttercup," he flicks my ear.

I sigh and roll my eyes at his nagging. "Just baby stuff. I'll get over it."

He kisses the back of my head before saying, "It's going to work out, buttercup. I'm sorry IVF didn't work out, but you know there are other ways to have a kid."

I bite my lip and nod my head. I know there are other options. Christian and I haven't talked about surrogacy or adoption, but I know that there is no way we can afford to adopt, and surrogacy is also expensive.

"I'll talk to him about it," I turn my head towards him and he gives me an encouraging smile.

"Good. Let's go and have some fun," he takes my hand, and we leave the house and get into his red 1967 Ford Mustang.

He revs up the engine causing me to roll my eyes as he smiles at me smugly. Elliot loves his car. He bought it a few years back, and last year, finally finished restoring it. It's a fire engine red with white racing stripes and new leather interior.

I quickly put on my seatbelt while he puts on his sunglasses and punches the gas. I laugh as the wind wildly blows my hair as we cruise down the road to our destination causing Elliot to smirk over at me.

* * *

Elliot pulls up at the local town carnival that has been going on the last few weekends. I smile in excitement as Elliot parks the Mustang in one of the parking spaces. He helps me out of the car, and we walk towards the front booth to pay for our tickets.

"What do you want to do first?" he smiles as he wraps his arm around my shoulders.

"Bumper cars," I point, and he nods.

We stand in line and wait for our turn. Elliot puts his sunglasses on his face and leans against me with his hip causing me to giggle and sway to the right. The corner of his mouth lifts before running his hand through his copper hair. The girls in front of us giggle when they get a good look at Elliot who is wearing dark skinny jeans, boots, white t-shirt with his hair slicked back.

"Hi, I'm Shelley," the red-headed girl offers him her hand a few seconds after checking him out.

I watch in amusement when I see him roll his eyes under his sunglasses. He shakes her hand quickly before letting it go and putting his arm around my waist and rests his chin on top of my head.

She stares at him in disappointment before smiling tightly and turning back around. I jab him in the ribs with my elbow as he laughs not-so-quietly.

"Elliot," I chastise him before shaking my head in amusement.

"What? I'm with my best girl. I don't need no one else," he shrugs innocently.

"Elliot you need to find someone," I smile up at him, wrapping my hand around his upper arm while we move forward in line.

He shrugs, "Na, too busy."

I narrow my eyes at him. I know that Elliot is lonely and wants to settle down, but he just hasn't found the right girl yet. Leila is pregnant and is not looking for anything right now, and that leaves Kate since I don't know any other friend who is single.

"You know my friend, Kate, right?" I look up at him as we walk forward a few more steps. Were in front of the line now.

"Yeah. That blonde one?" he nods.

"Yes. Would you be interested if I set you up with her?"

He makes a face before shaking his head, "She's not really my type. I'm fine right now, Buttercup."

I sigh but smile when it's our turn on the bumper cars. Elliot takes my hand, and we pick our separate vehicles. We chase each other and bump the other with the front of our cars, laughing our asses off for five minutes before hopping off when it's time for us to leave.

I giggle as Elliot gives me a piggy back ride as we check out the rest of the carnival. There are various booths; face painting, photo booths, fortune tellers, and tons of games for the whole family.

Elliot and I stop to get cotton candy before going over to the Ferris wheel. We talk and laugh when we go around a few times and then get off to head over to get some food. I grab a funnel cake, and a cherry snow cone and Elliot grabs a hot dog and a bottle of water. We sit down and eat our food before throwing away our trash to play some games.

Elliot cheers in victory when he wins a massive brown bear as he finally lands a ring on the top of the milk bottle. I laugh as he places the bear around his shoulders and sticks his tongue out at me. The girls around us laugh and practically swoon at his silliness.

We head over to the merry go round and hop on separate horses. I roll my eyes when Elliot lights up a cigarette. When we start to move, I burst out laughing when he suddenly finds a girl's headband that someone left on his horse and puts it on his head.

We stay at the carnival for another two hours before getting into his Mustang. I giggle once more when he has trouble getting that massive bear in the backseat of his car. At one point he lunged into the seat trying to shove the thing forward. When he finally gets it in, we head back home. I check my watch and see that it is past four.

"Today is just what I needed. Thanks for taking me out, Elliot," I smile over at him while he drives through town.

"Me too. I guess I had fun too," he smirks over at me before turning his eyes back on the road.

When we finally get home, Elliot gets out and yanks the bear out of the backseat in mock annoyance. I burst out laughing when he almost trips up the stairs leading to the front porch while holding the humongous bear in front of him.

He joins me in laughter when he sees me almost falling over in laughter. I finally get the front door unlocked and practically trip myself because we are laughing so hard. I really don't know why I'm laughing so hard, but his facial expression when he almost fell was priceless.

When I finally get my laughter under control, I set my purse and keys down on the kitchen table as Elliot falls on the sofa trying to stop laughing. He picks up the remote and surfs through the channels while I take off my sandals.

I sit down next to him, and he wraps an arm around my shoulder as he settles on a basketball game. I put my feet up on the coffee table, lean my head against him and shut my eyes for a few minutes before Christian gets home.

* * *

The front door opens and wakes me up from my slumber. I rub my eyes and see Elliot asleep beside me. I turn my head around to see Christian walking through the door, with purple paint splattered on his jeans.

Elliot opens his eyes when he hears the front door close. I rub my eyes again and smile when Christian walks over to us. "Hey. How did it go?" I stand up and stretch.

"Good. Got all the paint finished. We need to make a plan on the closet, though," he explains before taking hold of my chin and kisses me.

I nod as Elliot gets up and stretches himself. He runs his hand through his hair before saying, "I need a cigarette," he fists pumps his brother and heads out the front door.

"Did you have fun with Elliot?" he asks after Elliot closes the door.

"The best. It's just what I needed," I smile and follow him to the bathroom so that he can take a shower.

I tell him about the fun things we did at the carnival while I sit on the toilet lid as he showers. He steps out and dries off while he talks about his day. He finished painting the room where Leila plans to use as the nursery. They spent some time talking about what she wanted to do to the closet before clearing it out. Christian is going to go back next weekend and finish building the closet organizer.

We three plan to go out to dinner tonight before Elliot drives back to his apartment. Christian gets dressed in a pair of jeans, boxers, and a blue button-up shirt. He heads out of the room while I get dressed. I pick out a long black and white striped maxi dress, another pair of sandals and a short jean jacket. I fix my makeup before heading out to the front porch where Christin and Elliot are outside smoking.

"I'm ready and stop smoking, Christian," I roll my eyes and lock the front door.

Elliot chuckles as Christian sighs and flicks his cigarette on the ground.

"Why are you laughing, Elliot? You need to quit too," I stick my tongue out at him and he rolls his eyes. Christian smirks at him before taking my hand.

We all get into Christian's truck and head towards the restaurant.

We are eating dinner and laughing as Elliot recounts our time on the bumper cars. Christian rubs my thigh just before I spot Kate walking into the restaurant with her parents. I wave and smile at her when she spots me. She waves excitedly back and walks towards us.

"Hey!" she leans down to hug me.

"Hey, how are you?" I smile.

"I'm good. Just having dinner with the parentals," she points behind her.

I see her parents sitting down at the table across from us. I see her younger brother Ethan, who just turned twenty-one, sat down beside his mother looking over the menu.

Kate notices Elliot drinking his beer, and I can see her eyes widen in appreciation. She smiles down at Elliot and holds out her hand.

"It's good to see you again Elliot," she giggles.

I look at them and give Elliot an encouraging smile, but inwardly pout when I see his displeasure at her obvious flirting. I can tell by the bored expression on his face that he is not that impressed by her.

"Yeah, you too," he nods at her and continues with his beer, ignoring her when she continues to stare at him.

Kate looks down in disappointment and turns towards me. I smile sympathetically at her, and she shrugs in embarrassment.

"I'll let you get back to your parents. Call me later?" I offer, and she smiles and nods before going to her table.

"Nice, Elliot," I scowl at him, and he rolls his eyes.

"What? I told you she is not my type."

I sigh, and Christian looks at him in amusement. I narrow my eyes at Christian, and he looks at me innocently.

"Ana, you can't shove them together if Elliot isn't interested," he kisses my hand, and I shrug.

"I guess," I sigh and Elliot winks at me.

We finish our food and Christian, and Elliot splits the bill before we head home. Elliot kisses my cheek and gives me a long hug and playfully nuzzles my neck to make me laugh before telling me he had fun today. He gives his older brother one of their special man hugs before he hops into his Mustang and drives away.

Christian takes my hand, and we both head inside. We get undressed and get into bed before Christian makes love to me, and we both fall into a blissful sleep.

* * *

 _ **AN: As you can see, this Elliot is very OOC, but just as there is no cheating with Christian and Leila, that goes for Elliot and Ana if anyone was wondering. Pinterest has been updated, and I changed Elliot's character, and instead of picturing Luke Grimes, I envisioned Bill Skarsgard as him in this story.**_

 _ **Just to let you all know, I might have to go back to once a week updating. I haven't had much time to write here lately, and school starts back up soon for me and I only have about eighteen chapters written so far. I want to keep the updates coming regularly, so starting next week I will be updating only on Wednesday's. Sorry about that. :/**_

 _ **Thank you for reading and the reviews on the last chapter. Keep them coming. :)**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Christian**_

The alarm blares throughout the bedroom, waking me up from a deep sleep. Ana groans against my chest as I slap the alarm off with my palm. I stretch and rub the sleep from my eyes as Ana kisses down my chest. I hum and rest my hand on her head as she kisses further down my body.

I put my hands under my head and close my eyes in pleasure when Ana wraps her lips around the head of my cock.

After a few rounds of lovemaking, I get up to get dressed, leaving Ana spent and tired on our queen size bed. I smirk in satisfaction when she lays there completely satisfied with a serene look on her face. Her brown hair fanned out on her pillow, naked breasts barely peeking out from under the covers.

With my chest bare, jeans unbuttoned, and barefoot, I walk towards her and lean over and run my nose along her jaw causing her to moan and grab my cock through my jeans. I bite her chin and shake my head. "Go back to sleep, baby. I'll see you in a few hours."

She pouts, and I smirk before leaning away from her and finish getting ready to go. Ana gives me a kiss before she rolls over and falls back asleep.

I close our bedroom door softly and walk towards the kitchen to get some breakfast. Today is Saturday, and I am going over to Leila's house to finish the baby's closet. When I arrived at her house last weekend, we sat and went over what sort of paint color she wanted, which was a soft violet color since she recently found out that she was having a girl. I drove her to a local paint store, so that we could grab the paint and the painting supplies.

After paying for the paint and supplies, we hopped back into my truck and drove back to her house. The prep for painting took at least thirty minutes before I was able to start.

After a few hours, the room was finished, and Leila was kind enough to offer lunch to say thank you. While we ate our sandwiches and chips, she went over what she wanted to do with the closet. Since we couldn't pick up the wood until the middle of the week, I planned to come back to her house and finish today. I intend to grab the wood and supplies I need before I build the shelves and dividers. It shouldn't be that long of a project, so today would be the last day I need to go over there.

I finish the rest of my cereal before placing the bowl in the sink. I gather my phone and keys and tuck my wallet in the back pocket of my jeans before heading out and hopping into my truck.

* * *

Leila's house is like ours, but it's a two-story, blue exterior paint with white shutters. She revealed that her mother helped her buy the house since we wanted to start over in another city due to her asshole ex-boyfriend. Her words, not mine.

After picking up everything, I drive up to the house and park my truck near her garage and get out. The front door opens, and Leila in a blue maternity dress steps out onto the porch. She waves with a smile while I gather my tools from the back of my truck. I smile in return before meeting her on the porch.

"Thank you for coming. I hope this is the last time you must come over. I feel bad that I kept you from Ana, two weekends in a row," she looks at me guiltily.

"No worries. She is spending time with my mother and brother today," I shake my head and follow her into the house.

"Good. Elliot is very nice," she blushes, and I smirk.

Leila has a little crush on my brother but says she doesn't want to start anything with anyone because she wants to focus on the baby, which I admire.

"Let's get this show on the road," I nod towards the room.

* * *

Four hours later, the closet is finished and painted a bright white. Leila beams at the space in awe before turning around and giving me, a hug, and I awkwardly hugged her back.

"Thank you so much! It's perfect," she claps her hands as she looks around the closet once more.

"I'm glad you like it," I smile and admire my handiwork myself.

I leave her to admire the closet while I head to the bathroom to wash up. I shake my head in amusement when I wash my hands in the sink. Her bathroom is the epitome of…girly. The wall is painted in black and white stripes, portraits of several types of hearts are scattered on the walls, and a vase of pink flowers placed near the sink. I scrunch up my nose when I wipe my hands with the pink fluffy hand towel.

I turn off the light and head out to find Leila. She is still in the baby's bedroom bringing in a few bags and placing them near the window. "Well, I'm going to head out," I point to the door, and she turns around.

"Wait, come with me," she waves me forward.

I frown and follow her into the living room where she picks up her purse and opens her wallet. "Here. For your services," she smiles and hands me the five-hundred she was going to give to the contractor.

I shake my head, "No. That's okay. You don't have to pay me. I'm happy to do it for free," I try to hand her back the money, but she backs away.

"Ah, absolutely not! I'm not letting you do that for free. Honestly, it's okay. Just take the money," she frowns.

"Leila, no. I don't need the money. Just keep it and use it for the baby," I place the money on the breakfast bar.

She sighs and rubs her forehead in apparent frustration. "Christian, I am not taking the money back. I took you away from your wife for two weekends straight, and I am not letting you leave here without that money."

"Well I'm not taking the money," I cross my arms over my chest, defiantly.

Five-hundred dollars would help us out considerably, but I wouldn't feel right in taking her money. I would rather her keep the money, so that she can use it on the baby.

She rolls her eyes and huffs in irritation before grabbing the money off the bar and shoving the money in my front pocket. I jump back in surprise when she continues to push it into my pocket.

"There! I'm not taking it back," she smiles in satisfaction.

 _Did she just do what I think she just did?_ I stand there dumbfounded for a few seconds before glaring at her in annoyance. I shove my hand into my pocket to grab the money, and when I am about to take it back out, she snaps.

"You better not take it out of your _pocket!_ "

I growl and turn around, my back to her and run my hand through my hair. I don't want to take her money. I wasn't lying when I said that I was happy to do it for free. I know five-hundred would help to put money back into the savings that we lost, but it doesn't feel right to take her money, especially when she needs it for her baby. _Why does this female have to be so stubborn?_

I feel her hand on my shoulder causing me to turn around. "Christian, seriously. Please take the money. I wouldn't feel right that you do all this without me paying you something. Please," she nearly pleads causing me to sigh in defeat.

"Fine."

She smiles in victory and rubs her stomach. "Good!"

I roll my eyes, and for some reason, my eyes fall to her stomach. I swallow thickly when my mind goes back to our failed IVF process. I sigh and look down and scratch my nose before looking back up at her. She gives me a sympathetic smile causing me to smile tightly at her. I'm sure Ana told her about our fertility troubles.

"I should go."

"Yeah. Well, thanks again. I love the bedroom. I really do appreciate it," she smiles and pats my arm before leading me to the door.

I pick up my tools and wallet on the way before stepping out onto the porch. I turn to her, and she smiles while holding open the door.

"You take care now," I nod.

"I will. Tell Ana I said hi," she asks, and I nod in return. She waves and thanks me again before closing the front door.

* * *

I park near the driveway to my parent's home, so that I can pick up Ana. Elliot picked her up this morning to hang out at my parent's house for the day while I was gone.

I finish my cigarette and flick it out the window before getting out of my truck and walking up the front steps. I open the front door and hear laughter coming from the living room. I close the door and smile when I smell my mother's homemade chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven.

My mother always loved to bake for Elliot and me when we were growing up. She would always get up early Saturday morning and bake us some type of brownies, cakes, and cookies, while my father was away at work. She even let us eat it for breakfast some mornings. It became sort of a tradition in our house, and it's one that I want to continue when I have children of my own.

I sigh and walk towards the living room where Elliot and Ana are laying on the couch. Elliot is on one end of the sofa, and Ana is on the other end. Elliot is watching some sort of sports show on the tv while rubbing my wife's feet. My mother is sitting in an oversized chair reading a magazine.

"Elliot, I'm the only one that should make my wife moan," I crack a smile.

Elliot flicks me off without taking his eyes off the tv while Ana turns her head towards me. She smiles and puckers her lips for me to kiss her.

I chuckle and walk towards her and lean down and peck her lips. "Did you get the closet done?"

"Yep," I sigh, suddenly feeling tired. I smack the side of Elliot's head causing him to grunt.

Elliot gets up off the sofa and offers me his side of the couch. I kiss my mother on the cheek before sitting down and laying back. Ana cuddles up against me and kisses my chest. I smile and put my arm around her.

Elliot stretches and walks towards the door saying he needs a cigarette. "Oh, cookies are done," mom smiles when she hears the oven timer go off.

When she walks off to take the cookies out of the oven, I turn towards Ana. "Leila gave us five-hundred dollars for the work," I whisper so no one can overhear.

Her eyes widen and lean back to look up at me. "Why?"

I tell her that she wouldn't take no for an answer and that she literally shoved the money into my pocket when I refused.

"She didn't need to do that," Ana sighs and puts her head back against my shoulder.

"I know, but now we have some money to put back into savings," I nod.

"That's true," Ana hums.

We sit there and watch some boring golf show that Elliot was watching earlier. A few minutes later, Elliot walks back into the living room. He flops down next to Ana and lays his head on her shoulder, playfully. She giggles and leans back so he can put his head on her lap. She runs her hand through his hair causing him to hum. I roll my eyes and put my head back and continue to watch what Elliot was watching earlier.

Mom comes back into the living room with a tray full of chocolate chip cookies. Our eyes light up when she places them down on the coffee table. She beams at us when we lunge for the cookies.

We all dig into the cookies while laughing. Mom puts on a comedy movie while we all finish off the cookies. After it's over, dad comes home fifteen minutes later, and heads to take a quick shower while mom and Ana cook dinner.

We end up staying at my parent's house for another two hours before we head home to take a shower together and fall into bed. Ana leans over and hooks her leg over mine and lays her head on my chest. I kiss the side of her head as we talk for a while before we both fall asleep.

* * *

 _ **AN: Here is the next chapter. Thank you for the reviews on the last one. I know Elliot is a little different, but he's not going to go crazy with his PDA.**_

 _ **There are many of you wondering if something is going to happen to Leila and if they are going to adopt her baby? I don't want to reveal too much but no, they will not end up adopting her baby.**_

 _ **Next chapter will be emotional with a little bit of drama. Just remember their pregnancy journey will be an emotional rollercoaster before they get to their HEA.**_

 _ **Thank you all for reading and following. See you all next week.**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Ana**_

I sigh in frustration when I check the balance in our bank account. It's been quite low for the last few months, and it only seems to be getting smaller and smaller every week.

We went ahead and put the five-hundred we got from Leila into our savings account, but we had to take it out a few days later to pay Christian's truck payment. We literally spent all our paychecks for the month to pay our mortgage payment, which was ten days' late to begin with.

The electricity and car insurance are due tomorrow, and we barely have enough to pay those bills. Usually, after all, our more significant bills are paid, we have just enough left to buy groceries and a little spending money for the rest of the week. Now, we barely have enough to the pay bills and get groceries.

I put my head in my hands and try to think about what we are going to do. If we get groceries, we won't have enough to pay the electricity. If we pay for the power, we won't have any food for the week.

I groan and rub my head before looking back to the computer screen. I bite the inside of my cheek when my mind goes to my mother. I know she wouldn't mind helping us out for this month, but I don't think Christian would approve of me doing that.

I look at the bank balance again and deflate when I know I am going to need to call my mother and ask if she can loan us some money. I know Christian is going to go ballistic, but there is nothing else we can do right now because the bills are due tomorrow.

I pick up the house phone and dial my mother's number. She picks up on the third ring.

"Hi, honey," she says cheerfully.

"Hi, mom. I'm sorry are you still at work?"

"Yes, but I'm not too busy right now since it's the end of the day. I just got back to the office from court. What's going on?" She explains.

I take a deep breath and look at our balance again before blurting out, "Can we borrow some cash?"

I squeeze my eyes shut when I hear silence on the other line. After a few seconds, she says, "What's going on, honey?" I can hear the concern in her voice.

I sigh and look down, "It's nothing. The garage is still having trouble, and with everything going on, were a little behind these last few months," I say thoroughly embarrassed.

"Oh, honey. I can tell by your voice your embarrassed. Don't be because everyone has trouble now and then. Of course, I can give you whatever you need. You know I will always help you out when you need it," she says gently causing me to tear up.

"Thank you, mom, I really appreciate it," I sniffle and wipe my eyes with my sleeve.

"You don't have to thank me, sweetheart. Your father and I are always here. I will get online now and transfer the money," she says matter-of-factly.

"Okay. I'll let you get back to work. I love you, mom."

"I love you too, honey. Let me know if you need anything else," I can hear her smile before she hangs up.

I sigh and put the phone down. I sign off our bank account, and while I am waiting for my mother to transfer the money, I decided to google some money saving tips.

While looking at the website, I write down several things we can try. One of the recommendations is to get rid of your house phone. Since Christian and I have our cell phones, we really don't need the house phone, so I make a mental note to talk to Christian about canceling the phone plan.

The next one that I write down is to start using coupons, price comparisons, buy generic brands, and prepare meals at home instead of going out for lunch. I snort when I get to the _stop smoking_ one. I know Christian won't quit, and I learned to try to let him decide to quite himself if he wants, but on the other hand, we could save a lot of money if he stopped buying the packs of cigarettes.

I sigh and decide not to bring that conversation up again because I know he won't quit until he is ready, and I don't want to start another argument about it.

I exit the page and sign onto our bank account once more. My eyes widen when I see that my mother transferred more money than I expected. I smile in relief when I pay our electricity and car insurance bill.

When that is done, I quickly make a grocery list and look at my watch to see that Christian will be home in about an hour which gives me enough time to run to the grocery store.

I pick up my purse, phone and keys, shut and lock the front door before walking down the street towards the local grocery store which is less than a mile away. I grab a cart and go through the aisles, picking up various types of food, and lastly a gallon of milk.

When I'm done with that, I stand in line and wait for my turn to check out. The cashier, an older lady, named Maria, rings up my purchases before I hand her my debit card.

"Have a good day, Ana," Maria smiles at me while giving me back my debit card.

"You, too. Say hi, to Burt for me," I smile before putting away my card.

"Will do," she smiles before ringing up the next customer.

I pick up all the grocery bags and walk out of the store, back towards our house which takes me about ten minutes with all the bags.

When our house comes into view, I see that Christian is home earlier than expected since his truck is in the driveway. I frown when I see him glaring at me from the front porch.

"What's with you?" I say while walking up the steps.

"Why did you ask your mother for money, Ana?" he snaps.

I stop walking and look at him dumbfounded for a few seconds, "How did you find out about that?" I sigh as I walk past him and into the house.

"Your father called me. Said I wasn't doing a great job of providing for you, _once again_!" he hisses while stomping into the kitchen where I'm putting the groceries away.

I roll my eyes and sigh while putting away the milk. "I'm sorry, Christian. We needed to pay the electricity and insurance bill. It was due tomorrow," I turn around and see him leaning on the kitchen island.

"I'm so sick of your father telling me how much of a fuck up I am. Your father always hated me," he scoffs.

"Christian, he doesn't hate you," my eyes soften as I walk towards him.

He snorts, "Oh, yes he does. He never gave me his blessing to marry you. Every time we are in the same room together, he always brings up how I'm not good enough for his daughter. Hell, he always shoves how much money he makes right in my face," he snaps and runs his hand through his hair.

 _Why didn't he tell me my father was acting like that?_ I stand in front of him and run my hands up his chest. He sighs and takes one of my hand into his and kisses my palm.

"Christian, I love you. I don't care on how much money you make. I don't care if you were dirt poor, I would still love you. _You are good enough for me_ and I'm sorry about my father and the things he said to you. I know how protective he is towards me, but that's no excuse for him to act that way. I'll talk to him, okay?" I rub his cheek as he gives me a small smile.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm just frustrated about work," he puts his forehead against mine.

"I know," I murmur before I press my lips against his.

I don't want to talk about my dad anymore. I'll deal with him later, but right now I need to distract him, and sex is just what we both need right now.

"Your tense, Mr. Grey. Let me make you feel better," I nip his bottom lip causing him to moan.

Christian kisses me fiercely for a few seconds before leaning his head back. "Why don't we take this to the bedroom," he whispers against my neck.

I smirk, "Race, ya!" I back up and run to the bedroom giggling while Christian chases after me.

* * *

"Hi, pumpkin," my dad picks up after the second ring.

"Why the hell did you call Christian? Daddy, what were you thinking telling him that he doesn't deserve me?" I snap.

Christian and I just got through eating dinner after our evening thrust. He went outside to have a smoke while I called my father to see what the hell gave him the right to call Christian and talk to him the way he did.

"Because he doesn't. Sweetheart, you can do so much better than that lowlife," he growls.

"I can't believe you right now. Dad, Christian is a good man, and so what if he isn't rich? You know I don't care about that!" I almost shout into the phone. I can't believe he is acting like this. I knew dad was impartial to Christian, but I didn't know this is what he really felt about him.

"Dad, I knew it took you awhile to warm up to him, and I thought you got over whatever reason why you didn't like him. So, why are you acting this way towards him all of a sudden?"

He's silent for a minute which causes me to become more frustrated. Just when I am about to speak again, he hisses, making me grimace. "He can't even provide for you, Anastasia! Hell, he can't even give you a baby!" he shouts.

My mouth opens in shock at what he just said. My dad found out that we were having trouble conceiving, but he doesn't know all the details and for him to just assume it's Christian's fault that we can't have a baby causes me to jump up from the bed and yell into the phone.

"You want to know what! It's not Christian's fault that we can't have a baby. IT'S MINE! I'm the one who can't give him one! But thank you for assuming it's my husband that is the problem!"

I throw the phone across the room and fall to my knees while I burst into tears. The pain and disappointment of not being able to have a baby hit me again full force after weeks of trying unsuccessfully to put it out of my mind.

I put my head in my hands and weep bitterly before Christian takes me into his arms and gently sways me back and forth. I cry against his shoulder as he tries to comfort me. I cry harder when he says that everything is going to work out, but for the first time since we started trying, I don't believe it will.

* * *

 _ **AN: Here is the next chapter. Thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter. I appreciate all your thoughts and opinions on the story.**_

 _ **Thank you for reading and reviewing. See you next week.**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Christian**_

I throw open the door when I spotted my father-in-law through the peephole.

Ray stands on the front porch looking uncomfortable with a hint of embarrassment. I inwardly smirk at his guilt-ridden expression. Carla stands behind her husband looking concerned.

"Come in," I grumble and stand aside to let them pass.

It's been a week since the emotional phone call with Ray. Ana has been ignoring Ray's calls since then. He's been calling her daily, trying to apologize, but Ana was too hurt to hear him out. After Carla called her daughter pleading to hear her father out, Ana reluctantly agreed for them to come over tonight after work, so that they can talk.

I kiss Carla's cheek before shutting the door and following them into the living room. Ana slowly walks into the room and sits down on the sofa in front of her parents who are sat on the loveseat.

Carla leans forward and takes her daughters hand into her and squeezes it. Ana gives her a small smile before letting go of her hand. Ana completely ignores her fathers pleading gaze and looks towards the opposite wall.

I sit down next to Ana and take her hand into mine. She gives me a weak smile before putting her head on my shoulder.

"Ana, I'm sorry honey," Ray murmurs while looking towards the floor.

"For what dad?" She scoffs as he leans her head back from my shoulder.

"I'm sorry for talking to you the way I did," he sighs.

"Try again dad," she narrows her eyes at him.

Carla nods her head towards her husband and crosses her arms.

Ray clears his throat awkwardly and rubs his forehead. I've noticed that he usually does this when he's nervous. "I'm sorry for what I said about your husband."

"Well, he's right here dad. You need to apologize to him, first before we talk further," she points to me.

I stare at Ray impassively, and he sighs heavily before turning towards me.

"Look, I only want the best for my daughter. I wanted her to have all the things I didn't while I was growing up. I know I've been unfair to you, Christian," he murmurs.

At the beginning of our relationship, Ana told me that Ray didn't have the most fortunate childhood. His parents never had money and couldn't always afford everything that Ray needed growing up. He would spend most of his adolescence working two jobs, so he can help support his family. After high school, Ray received a few scholarships, so that he could attend college and as of today, became a successful businessman a year after he graduated.

"When Ana came home and said she found the one she was going to marry, I was apprehensive. When she brought you to meet us that first night, I wasn't impressed, to be honest, but I did admire how much you loved my daughter," he gestures towards Ana.

"I love your daughter. I always have, and I always will," I kiss Ana's hand, and she smiles shyly at me.

Ray nods, "And that is the only thing that matters. I'm sorry son, at what I said to you. How I have been treating you. It wasn't right, and I am sorry."

I nod at him after a few minutes of silence. Ray gives me a weak smile and turns back towards Ana. "Your mother explained to me about your fertility troubles. Honey, why didn't you tell me the whole truth? I would have gladly helped you out with the IVF. You didn't have to wipe away your savings," he says in disapproval.

"Because dad, it wasn't your problem," Ana says frustrated.

"Yes, it is my problem. You're my daughter. What hurts you hurts me, and I and your mother would gladly give you the money," Ray snaps back as he stands up.

"I know you would, but Christian and I didn't want the handout. We wanted to be able to pay for it on our own," her lips trembles.

I pull her towards me and softly kiss her hair. "Ana, baby."

"I'm sorry. This whole baby thing is so frustrating," she says while wiping her nose on a tissue that I hand to her.

Ray's eyes soften and sit down by Carla who is trying hard not to cry herself. Ana pulls away and looks down at her lap. I sigh as I lean forward, and I rub my hands together in front of me.

"Honey, we will be more than happy to help you. I know that you both want a family, and we want to help you. Please, sweetheart, will you consider it?" Ray pleads while grabbing Ana's hand.

She sniffs and looks towards me for my opinion. I know she wants to start the IVF again, and I want too as well, but we really can't afford the expenses of having a baby. Bills are piling up, and my family's business has declined more since last month.

"We can't," I sigh despondently.

I see Ana swallow thickly and nods sadly at me since she knows that we can't continue trying to have a baby.

"Why not?" Carla frowns in disappointment.

"We can't afford to have a baby, mom. The Grey's business has been declining, and we can't afford our bills now, less a baby. As much as we want to start a family, we can't afford to have a baby. We appreciate your offer, but at this moment, it's not possible right now with our financial situation," Ana says soulfully.

Carla deflates, and Ray looks at me confused. "I thought the business was going well?"

"It was, until that fucker, Lincoln came into town," I growled, and Ana nodded in agreement.

"You mean Richard Lincoln?" Carla frowned.

"Yes, do you know him?" I while slightly frowning.

"No, but I heard of him. I can't say much since confidentiality, but I have met his wife, Elena," she looks unimpressed at the mention of her name.

"That blonde woman is his wife?" I narrow my eyes in contemplation.

"Correct. Quite the character that one," Carla rolls her eyes.

I snort and shake my head. So that women who came to the shop a few weeks ago was that fucker's wife. That woman gives me the fucking creeps. More than one occasion, I found that bimbo was smiling seductively at me while driving past our garage in a black range rover.

Ana looks over at me in annoyance since I told her about the nameless women when I came home that day. Ana comes over to the garage once a week, so that we can have lunch on her break, and that woman never hides her dislike for my wife. The women even took time to walk her little wiener dog in those ridiculous high heels and short skirts along the sidewalk when my wife is in the garage. Ana rolls her eyes in amusement when she sees her scowling at her. Now, we have a name for the bimbo and the reason why she hangs at Lincoln's garage all the time.

Ray suddenly sighs and brings me into the now. "Is there anything we can do?"

"No. We will be okay. It will pick up soon," I shrug.

"Do you need anything? We will be happy to help with the bills?" Carla offers while staring at Ana with hope in her eyes.

"No, mom. We are fine. That one time is enough," Ana says quickly when she sees me about to turn down her offer.

"Will you at least call us if you ever need anything?" Ray shakes his head in apparent frustration.

"I will, dad. Promise," Ana smiles and gets up from the couch.

Carla and Ray also stand up from the loveseat, and they walk into a three-way hug causing me to crack a smile.

After catching up on other essential things, Carla and Ray stay for another thirty minutes before leaving to go home. Ana sighs tiredly when she closes the front door.

"What do you think?" she asks while walking towards me.

"Don't worry about me. I know your dad was sincere," I sigh as I take her into my arms and rest my hands on her lower back.

Ana bites the inside of her cheek and stares at me apprehensively. "What is it?" I frown.

"Do you think we could get pregnant on our own?" she says after a few seconds.

"Of course, I do. Why?"

"What if we do get pregnant?" she murmurs.

"Then we can figure it out. I know that we can't afford a baby right now, but _if_ that happens, we can figure out the next steps when it does happen," I sigh.

"Yeah. Well, I guess I'll start on dinner," Ana gives me a small smile and a kiss before walking into the kitchen.

I head to the living room and sit on my recliner and put my feet up. I lean forward and grab the remote that sits on the coffee table and flip through the channels and finally settle on Sports Center.

As I'm watching some basketball highlights, I hear a loud thud coming from the kitchen.

"Shoot!" I hear Ana shout.

I frown and get up from my chair to head into the kitchen. I see Ana huff in frustration when she practically throws something in the sink.

"What happened?" I walk up behind her and put my arms around her waist.

"I accidentally overcooked the noodles," she sighs as she rubs her forehead in irritation.

"It's okay, baby. We can make more," I kiss her neck, and she shrugs. She groans as she checks the clock that is on the microwave.

"Well, I guess I'll throw these away," she grumbles, picking up the overcooked noodles that are in the colander.

I can see that the whole baby thing is still on her mind, and I'm guessing the talk we had earlier with her father is distracting her. I smirk when I suddenly get an idea.

Before she can throw away the noodles in the trashcan, I grab some and throw them at her, and they hit her in the face. She stares at me dumbfounded for a minute causing me to smile.

"I can't believe you," she narrows her eyes.

I laugh as she grabs a handful of noodles and throws them at me. "This is war!" I declare.

We both burst out laughing as we throw the noodles at each other. We have noodles stuck in our hair, and some are suck to our clothes. At one point, I almost trip on some that are stuck to the floor as I try to shove some noodles down her shirt. She giggles as she tries to push them down my boxer briefs.

The noodles are everywhere as Ana, and I are practically on the floor laughing our asses off. She suddenly straddles me, and I lean up, and we kiss each other while we try to stop laughing unsuccessfully.

When we get our laughing under control, I pick up my wife and carry her to the shower, and we spend the next thirty minutes getting each other clean after our messy food fight.

We get out of the shower, and we dry off and get dressed in our pajamas before we both head into the kitchen. We spend some time cleaning up the noodles from the floor, and after we're done, we decided just to head up a frozen pizza for dinner.

We're in the middle of our bed, facing each other and laughing as we eat our meat lover's pizza.

"Tell me it's always going to be like this," Ana says out of the blue.

"What is?" I frown and take another sip of my beer.

"Us, like this. Happy," she sighs.

I put my beer down on the nightstand and cup her face and stare into her pale blue eye that first made me fall in love with her.

"We're always going to be happy," I gently rub her cheekbone with my thumb, and she smiles tenderly.

"I love you, Christian," she takes hold of both my wrists.

"I love you too, and that is never going to change," I promise her and lean forward and kiss her lips softly.

* * *

 _ **AN: A little-lighthearted food fight for our favorite couple. :)**_

 _ **Thank you all for the reviews on the last chapter. I agree that Ray was a big jerk. Next chapter we will meet a younger Mia.**_

 _ **Thank you for reading and reviewing. See you all next week.**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Ana**_

I turn around to see Christian still comatose on the bed after our fun morning activities. I smirk in satisfaction when I look at his satisfied smile plastered on his face.

I turn back around and finish putting on my workout clothes. Here recently, I started an exercise routine since Doctor Greene recommended that it could help with my Polycystic ovary syndrome. We're not actively trying right now, but the exercise can help with the condition, and when we do start trying again to have a baby, the exercise can help with infertility.

I lean down and kiss Christian before slapping his hand away when he squeezes my ass. He smiles and tells me to be careful before turning over and falling back asleep.

I walk out into the living room and grab my sneakers and put them on before grabbing my headphones. I put them into my ears and step out onto the porch and turn up the volume on my phone. I quickly put my hair up in a low ponytail and put on my light workout jacket before walking towards the door.

When my workout playlist begins to blast in my ears, I take a deep breath and stretch on the front porch for a few minutes before walking down the steps. I turn the volume up and start running down the street.

I run down our street and head towards town. It's early Sunday morning, so there is not a whole lot of people out this early.

After five minutes of running, my eyes narrow when I see that Elena bimbo out walking her little wiener dog. I roll my eyes and look on in abhorrence when I look at what she is wearing. Short shorts, cut-off shirt, and tan wedges. _Who the hell wears that while walking their dog this early in the morning?_

"Oh, sweetie, you look parched," I hear her say in a sickly-sweet voice when I jog closer to her.

She leans down and takes something out of her big ass black purse and sets it on the ground. I stare at her stupefied when she pours a bottle of water into a little dog bowl that she places on the ground.

I shake my head dumbfounded as I run past her and hear her huff behind me. I roll my eyes and ignore her and her little dog's water break and continue running down the street.

After I run a mile, I stop and put my hands on my knees and pant in exhaustion. I stand up and slide my jacket down my arms and sigh at the cool air when it hits my sweaty skin.

After getting my breathing under control, I take off my jacket and take a deep breath before turning off the music and walk back towards the house.

When I get to our street, I see Grace and Carrick on their front porch drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. I take out my headphones from my ears and wave when Grace spots me walking towards their house.

"Good morning!" she smiles and waves.

"Well hello," Carrick smiles and gets up from his rocking chair and kisses my cheek.

Carrick is a handsome older man who is in his late fifties. Since living next door to each other, we often come to their house for dinner. Carrick is a chef, and his food is to die for, so I always look forward to those nights when we come over.

"How's it is going, Ana?" Grace comes forward and squeezes my arm.

"Pretty good. How are you guys?" I smile when Carrick offers me his chair.

"Same over here. Enjoying the beautiful weather this morning," she smiles as she folds her newspaper.

"I know. That's why I wanted to run this morning," I nod in agreement.

We sit there and talk for about five minutes before the front door opens and out walks their daughter Mia. She waves excitedly at me before kissing her mother on her cheek.

Mia is a sophomore in high school and Grace and Carrick's only child. She is an intelligent, beautiful girl with her long brown hair and deep brown eyes. She is dressed in her school cheerleading uniform.

"Well, I'm off to cheer practice," she grabs her pom poms and gestures to the car that just pulled up.

"You be careful, sweetheart," Carrick nods.

"I will dad," she rolls her eyes as two girls in matching cheer uniforms come bouncing towards the front porch.

"Are you ready, girl?" one of the girls say.

"I'm ready," Mia smiles as she kisses her father goodbye.

When they walk down the steps, I suddenly hear our front door open, and I see Christian walk out wearing ripped jeans and a white t-shirt. He stretches for a second before lighting a cigarette. The girls stop walking when they notice Christian when he walks down the steps.

I see Mia blush and tuck a loose hair behind her ear as she watches him walk down the path barefoot. I smile in amusement as she looks down at the ground. Mia has always had a little crush on Christian and most of the time he is slightly uncomfortable when she stares at him for too long.

Christian notices everyone watching him, and he nods at Grace and Carrick. He sees me waving him forward causing him to nod and puts out his cigarette before tucking it back behind his ear and walks towards me. He stops short when he sees Mia and her friends gawking at him by the street.

He shuffles from foot to foot before slightly nodding at them, "Mia, good morning."

"Morning, Christian," she shyly waves at him with one of her pom poms.

Carrick sighs and mumbles under his breath at his daughter's actions. Grace shakes her head in amusement as I do when Christian walks up the steps obviously uncomfortable with the girls' attention.

"Good morning, Christian," Grace chuckles as she watches her daughter and her friends drive away.

"Morning, Grace. Carrick," he nods at them before standing next to me.

"Morning young man, How's things?" Carrick puts down his newspaper and gives Christian his attention.

"Going good," he smirks over at me causing me to look down in embarrassment.

"Christian," I narrow my eyes when Carrick smirks into his coffee.

"Would you both like to stay for breakfast?" Grace asks while she stands up from her chair.

"Thank you, Grace, but I need to go shower. Maybe another time?" I stand up and gesture to my sweaty clothes.

"Of course. You know you are both welcome here anytime," she pats my arm.

"You guys have a good day, now. I'll see you at school tomorrow," I smile.

Christian takes my hand as we say goodbye to Grace and Carrick.

When we get inside the house, Christian pushes me up against the wall and crashes his lips to mine. I giggle as he nuzzles my neck after a few minutes. I push him away when he is about to shove his hand down my leggings.

"I have to shower, mister," I grin

He pouts when I sashay to our bedroom to take a shower. He groans behind me when I whip my shirt off my head. I laugh when I hear him racing towards me.

He grabs my hips causing me to yelp in surprise. Christian carries me to the shower, turning the water on. I smile when he pushes down his jeans and boxers with one hand before leading us under the water. He quickly pushes down my workout leggings and thrusts into me causing me to throw my head back as I cry out.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Buttercup," I smile when I hear Elliot's nickname for me.

"Hey, you. What's up?" I snicker.

"Nothing much. At work."

"Everything okay?" he sounds nervous.

"Everything is fine. Nothing wrong here, just have a favor to ask you," he says hesitantly.

"Sure," I shrug as I put my pen down.

"You know your friend, Kate?"

I sit up straighter and smile. "Yes?"

"Well, I was hoping if you can give me her number."

I almost squeal into the phone with happiness. Kate continually asks me how Elliot is and that she wants me to give him her number, but Christian didn't think it was such a great idea. I know he told me not to interfere, but Elliot asked me for her number.

"Sure," I smile and give him her number.

"So, what are you going to ask her?" I bite my lip.

"What do you think Buttercup? See if she wants to hang out," he chuckles.

"Oh, Elliot, I'm excited for you. Kate keeps bugging me about you, and now finally you guys can get together," I dance a little in my chair.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Ana," he laughs.

"You have to call me and tell me how everything goes?" I ask hopefully.

"Yeah, yeah. I got to get back to work. Love you, Buttercup."

"Love you, bye!"

After Elliot hangs up, I text Christian.

 **A:** _Elliot called to tell me he wants Kate's number._

 **C:** _I know, he told me he was going to call you._

 **A:** _Are you mad?_

 **C:** _No, I'm just concerned. You know how Elliot can be and I don't want Kate to hurt him._

I sigh at Christian's last next. I know that Elliot slightly wears his heart on his sleeve most of the time and some girls are uncomfortable with how affectionate he can be. I know many women want intimacy and affection from their partners, but sometimes Elliot can go overboard, and it's been a problem in his past relationships.

 **A:** _It will be okay. I'll talk to Kate. Got to go. My class is starting again soon. Love you._

 **C:** _Love you too, babe._

* * *

"Hey!" Kate waves at me once she walks into the door.

I called Kate to see if she can meet me at the local coffee shop after work. I don't want Elliot to get hurt, so I wanted to talk to her beforehand. Elliot has been hurt in the past, and I see how that has affected him, and he is careful about who he allows getting close to him. I can see that Elliot is taking a risk in putting himself out there again. I can see that Elliot wants what his mom and dad have, which is a loving relationship, and their extreme love for each other influences him to want to find the same thing.

I know I haven't known Kate for very long, but she has become a loyal friend to me these last few months. She has been hurt in the past like Elliot and wants a loving relationship, so I do hope their date goes well.

"Hey," I smile and stand up to hug her.

She's still in her pink scrubs and messy bun since she came straight here from work. "Let me go get some coffee. I'll be back," she says after she sets down her purse and car keys.

I nod and wait for her to come back with her coffee. She sits down opposite of me and holds her cup with both her hands.

"Thanks for coming. I need to talk to you about Elliot," I tightly smile at her before taking a sip of my own coffee.

"Okay. Oh, Ana. I'm so excited! He called me a few hours ago, and asked me out this weekend," she dances in her seat before taking a sip of hers.

"I first want to say how happy I am that you guys are going out. As you know, I've known Elliot for a long time," I start.

She frowns slightly and then nods her head for me to continue.

"Elliot can be a little…affectionate," I say hesitantly.

She frowns deeply this time. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No, of course not. It's just that…," I sigh and bite my lip and think on how to explain his personality without making Elliot out to be a weirdo when he's anything but. Many women have told him that, which is bullshit.

"What?" she asks confused.

I sigh and take another sip of my coffee before I continue. "Elliot is a very passionate person. Like I said he's _very_ affectionate and loyal. I just want to make you aware that Elliot is a really great guy. He's one of a kind, and I hope you two hit it off like I know you will," I smile and nod at her when she beams at me.

"Wow, he does seem like one of a kind, doesn't he?" she gives me an all-tooth-smile causing me to nod enthusiastically.

"He really is," I smile as I finish my coffee.

Kate and I sit there and talk for another thirty minutes before getting up and walking out of the coffee shop. She promises me that she will call me after their date to tell me how it went. We hug each other goodbye before going our separate ways.

* * *

 _ **AN: Since it's the 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **of July tomorrow, I decided to update a day early.**_

 _ **I have been busy these last few weeks, so I haven't had the chance to write and chapter 18 is the last pre-written chapter. So, I can still update weekly until then, but after that, the updates will probably not be every week. I will try my best to start writing again and give you all weekly updates. We will see how it goes.**_

 _ **Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Happy Independence Day!**_

 _ **Pinterest has been updated.**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Ana**_

I pant and moan as I ride my husband while he is blindfolded. We both recently started spicing up our sex life, and so far, we tried furry handcuffs, vibrators, role play, flavored lubricant and now today is the blindfold.

I lean back, put my hands on his thighs as I bounce up and down. He throws his head back and squeezes my hips harder.

"Oh, my, God, babe. Harder," he moans, and I oblige.

He tries to sit up, but I don't let him. He groans in protest when I pin his arms down on the bed.

"Babe, what are you doing? Don't stop," he pants when I stop bouncing down on him.

I lean down but stop to savor the feeling of him buried inside of me. He tries to sit up again, but I hurriedly pin his arms over his head and snap the cuffs onto his wrists.

He freezes for a few seconds before moaning loudly as I slowly move up and down once more.

"Babe, this is so goddamn hot. You drive me crazy," he bites his lip when I grind harder.

Christian talks dirty to me for a few minutes causing me almost to reach my climax. Just when were both about to shout out our release, we both freeze when we hear a loud engine roar near our bedroom. My eyes widen when we hear a horn blaring outside causing me to startle and turn my head around when I spot headlights peeking through our curtains.

"Babe, what the hell is that?" Christian pants.

"I don't know," I frown and gently ease myself off Christian.

"What are you doing? Babe, I was so close," Christian whines as I put on my robe.

I'm about to speak, but a loud banging on the front door startles me. "What the hell?" Christian tries to sit up again but groans in frustration when he remembers he is handcuffed to the bed.

"Undo the cuffs, Anastasia," he snaps as the banging gets louder.

With trembling hands, I take the key from his nightstand and undo the cuffs. He rips the blindfold off his eyes and stomps butt naked towards the door.

"Christian!" my eyes widen as he breezes past me. "What are you doing?"

"I'm about to beat someone's ass for disturbing us! Can't a guy get fucked by his wife around here?" he all but shouts on his way to the door, still butt naked.

He unlocks the door, and angrily throws it open and groans in irritation when he sees who is standing on the front porch. "What the fuck, Elliot!"

My eyes widen again in concern when a distraught Elliot strides through the door. "Nice, birthday suit, big brother," he scoffs.

"What are you doing here?" Christian rolls his eyes, and he hurriedly shuts the door.

I grab the throw off the couch and hand it to Christian. He sighs and wraps the blanket around his waist as Elliot throws himself at me. He wraps me into his arms and puts his face against my neck.

"What happened?" I rub his back as he groans into my neck.

Christian frowns as he runs a hand through his hair. "Why the hell did I ask you for her number?" Elliot leans back and lets me go and flops down on the couch.

My eyes soften when Elliot puts his head in his hands. Kate and Elliot have been going out for a few weeks now. Their first date was a success, and she called me that night and gushed how wonderful Elliot was on their date. They had another date tonight, so I'm confused as to what happened.

"Elliot," I say softly as I sit down next to him on the couch.

"She did what every other woman has done in the past. Shoot me down when I show my true self," he hisses.

"What did she do?" Christian narrows his eyes at Elliot and sits down in his recliner.

"The first date was good, so we got together the next weekend, and this weekend at dinner, she seemed distant. I asked her what was wrong, and she said that she already felt smothered. That I called her too damn much, and she needed space," Elliot says sarcastically.

Christian scoffs and sits back in his chair. I shake my head, disappointed at the situation.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Elliot groans and lays his head back on the couch.

"There is nothing wrong with you, Elliot," I murmur as I run my hand soothingly through his hair.

"Oh, yes there is," he murmurs while staring up at the ceiling.

"Well," Christian teases as he rubs his chin in thought.

I glare at him before Elliot kicks his shin with his boot.

"Fuck! You dick," Christian hisses in pain.

Christian stands up and smirks when he puts Elliot into a headlock. "Let go of me, fucker," Elliot tries to push him off but doesn't succeed since Christian is stronger than him.

I shake my head in amusement as Christian lets him go and puts his hands up in surrender when Elliot takes a fighting stance.

"Listen to me, little brother," Christian puts his hand on Elliot's arm, so that he can get his attention. "There is nothing wrong with you. You're a great guy and an amazing brother. If she can't see that, then fuck her," he hisses the last part.

I smile when Elliot looks away for a second and then nods his head before slapping Christian's shoulder.

I get up from the couch and touch his hand. "I'm sorry for trying to set you up with her, Elliot. I shouldn't have."

"It's not your fault. I asked you for her number. Don't worry about it. You had good intentions," Elliot wraps me into his arms and hugs me.

"Ah, Ana?" Elliot all the sudden freezes after a few moments.

"Yeah?" I answer with my eyes closed.

"Are you naked?" he says curiously.

My eyes spring open when I realize I'm naked underneath my thin robe. I lean back, and his eyes are wide with a big grin on his face.

I groan in embarrassment and hurry to our bedroom to get dressed.

I hear Christian say, "Yes, you interrupted our fun time you dick."

Elliot laughs, "Oops, sorry."

* * *

The next day I get a surprising phone call from Kate in the early afternoon. Christian is next door looking at Carrick's car since something seems to be wrong with it. I'm sitting on our bed reading a book when my phone lights up with her call.

"Hey."

"Hi. Do you have time to talk?" she sounds embarrassed.

"Yeah, sure," I sigh. I really don't to talk with her now. I fight the urge to tell her that I don't have time to talk but decide to listen to her anyway.

"Look, Ana, I'm sure you have heard from Elliot already, and I just want to say that I didn't mean to hurt his feelings. I tried to call him to apologize, but he won't take my calls," she sighs through the phone.

"Yes, he came over that night. He was really hurt, Kate. Look, I don't want to know the details. Just know that if he wants to talk, he will call you," I put my book down on the bed and rub one of my temples.

"Okay. He just was too affectionate, you know? He was smothering me. I'm mean I'm all about a guy being affectionate occasionally, but he went a little overboard," she sighs once more.

I roll my eyes and try not to snap at her. I know Elliot can come on a little strong, but he's a good guy and something in her tone, the way she says it, pisses me off.

"I have to go," I take a deep breath.

"Oh, okay. Call me later?" she sounds disappointed, but right now I don't care how she feels.

"Sure," I murmur and hang up the phone.

I think Kate is a good friend and I don't want this to impact our friendship, so I decided just to let this situation go and move on.

* * *

I park Christian's truck into a parking spot and turn off the engine. After Kate called me earlier, I immediately went next door and told Christian that I was going over to Elliot's house to see how he was doing.

It's been a few days since his disastrous date with Kate, so I just want to make sure everything is alright. I walk up the steps to the second floor where Elliot's apartment is. I knock on his door and frown when I faintly hear a woman's voice. _Is Kate here?_

Elliot opens the door after a few moments. He looks uncomfortable and is slightly flustered.

"Buttercup, I didn't know you were coming over."

He kisses my forehead before ushering me into his apartment. My eyes widen when I see a girl I've never seen before sitting on his sofa. She waves at me awkwardly while Elliot stares at me nervously.

"I'm sorry was I interrupting something?" I shift awkwardly on my feet.

"Oh, no. We were just talking. Ana, this is my new neighbor, Aleida," he points to her, and she smiles and waves at me again.

"Aleida, this is my sister-in-law, Ana," he places his arm around my shoulder.

She gets up off the sofa, and we shake hands. She's beautiful, with long black hair, and deep brown eyes. She's wearing cut-off jean shorts, adidas sneakers, a white t-shirt, and her dark hair is in a high messy ponytail.

"It's nice to meet you, Ana," she smiles politely. She has a slight accent that I can't quite place.

"You as well. I was just coming over to see how you were doing?" I smile back and turn towards Elliot.

"I'm fine. Great, actually," Elliot smirks over at Aleida causing her to smile and then look away in slight embarrassment.

"Well, I'll leave you two. I have a lot of unpacking to do. Nice to meet you, Ana," she nods at me before smiling at Elliot and heading towards the door.

"Come over anytime if you need any more help," he offers as she opens the door.

"I will," she nods and then she's gone.

"She seems nice," I smirk.

"Yeah. She was having trouble getting her boxes up the stairs. I saw her struggling with holding them up, so I helped her carry the boxes into her apartment," he nods and scratches the back of his neck.

"That was very nice of you," I cross my arms and smile.

"No big deal," he shakes his head in amusement.

"Kate called me earlier," I say hesitantly.

He sighs before flopping down on the couch. He pats the cushion beside him, and I sit down.

"I figured. She keeps calling me," he puts his feet up on the coffee table.

"Are you going to call her back?" I lean back and bump his shoulder with mine.

He thinks about it for a few minutes before shaking his head. "No. I liked her and all, but not enough to go any further. I should have never asked for her number. I mean, she wasn't really my type anyway," he sighs.

"I'm sorry it didn't work out," I shrug a shoulder and look up at him after a few minutes of silence.

He turns and stares at me for a few seconds before popping my nose with his finger causing me to crack a smile. "Me too, but it's for the best," he leans back against the cushions.

I pat him on the shoulder before getting up and walking into his kitchen for something to drink. He sees me grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and jumps up from the couch.

"Sorry, apparently I'm not a good host," he grumbles.

I open the water cap and take a drink. "You're fine," I murmur.

"What's Christian doing?" he asks while opening the fridge and grabbing his own water bottle.

"He's with Carrick fixing his car. Actually, he should be done by now," I frown as I look at my watch.

He leans his hip against the kitchen island and chugs his bottle of water before nodding. "I'm starving. Want to get dinner?"

"Let's go back to my house. I'll cook dinner for you guys," I smile and finish my water before throwing it into his trash.

"Will you make your famous cake afterward?" his face lights up causing me to laugh.

"Yes, I can."

Elliot smiles before throwing his own water bottle away and grabbing his keys, wallet, and phone from the table.

"Let's go, buttercup," he throws an arm around my shoulder as we walk out of his apartment.

* * *

 **AN: First, I wanted to take a minute to let you all know that I really appreciate all the support that I have received throughout all my stories. It means a lot that many of you have enjoyed them so far. Also, thank you all for following and reviewing each chapter since I first started posting on this site.**

 **Second, I want to let you all know that this story will probably be the last one I write. I have been slowly drifting away from FF for several personal reasons. I won't bore you with why, but just know that it has nothing to do with Trolls or that they ran me off from writing.**

 **I have loved writing AU/OOC stories that we haven't seen too much of and many of you have stuck by me since the beginning. Thank you for that. :D**

 **Lastly, I will try my best to keep giving you updates and I will finish this story so don't worry about me abandoning it. It might take me some time, but I will write it until it's finished.**

 **Anyway, next chapter will be a very emotional chapter, so get ready for some tissues. It sure brought back some sad memories for me while writing it.**

 **Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Let me know what you all think of the chapter. See you all next week.**


	15. Chapter 15

_**Two months later**_

 _ **Christian**_

"Hi mom, how's work?" I place my phone on my shoulder as I finish an oil change.

"Work here is fine. Did your father tell you about dinner tonight?" she says hesitantly.

I frown slightly at her worried tone. "Yes, he did. You guys have some news to tell us."

"Yes, we do. I'm making pot roast. Ana said she would come straight from school so that she can help me prep," she explains, and I nod and walk towards my office while I clean my oily hands with a towel.

"That's good. We all should be done by 5:30."

I hang up as I open the door to the office and find Elliot staring at what looks like a black picture and smiling. He sees me walking into the office and hurriedly shoves whatever he was holding onto his desk drawer.

"What was that?" I frown and walk to my desk to start an invoice for the car I was working on.

"Nothing," he says quickly before logging onto his computer.

I shrug and start working on the invoice. After a few minutes of silence, I look up to tell Elliot that we were summoned to dinner tonight, but he is already staring at me intently.

I quirk an eyebrow, and he tightly smiles before getting out a cigarette and lighting it. "Dinner tonight," I take the offered cigarette from Elliot and light it.

"Yeah, I remember," he tries not to smile while he stares at me.

"What the hell is up with you? Why are you acting funny?" I say with the cigarette still between my lips.

"Nothing," he exhales and gets up from his chair.

He pats my shoulder on his way to the garage. I shake my head in bemusement before going back to the invoice.

* * *

After we get off work, I run home to shower and change into a pair of jeans, and a black button up before hopping back into my truck and heading towards mom and dad's house.

I open the door to my parent's house. When I close the door, I see my dad and Elliot standing by the couch, talking in hushed voices.

"Dad, Elliot," I announce.

Their heads whip towards me, and they both look suddenly uncomfortable. I shake my father's hand and fist pump Elliot before walking into the kitchen to see my mom and Ana. I ignore my father and brother's weird behavior while walking into the kitchen.

I smile when I see Ana chopping vegetables while she laughs at something my mother says who is standing by the refrigerator grabbing the milk. I spot Elliot's new girlfriend on the other side of the kitchen stirring something on the stove.

Elliot and his girlfriend Aleida have been dating for the last two months. He called me when he first met her and gushed at how hot she was and that they spent the whole weekend getting to know each other. Aleida is originally from Sweden and moved to the states, so she can be closer to her family who moved to Washington a few years ago.

After a few weeks, he asked her to be his girlfriend, and she happily accepted. I'm very happy for my brother because Aleida seems to accept him for who he is. To be honest, it's a little irritating on how affectionate those two can be when they are together. Ana always nags me on how I'm not affectionate enough towards her. I know most of the time she's just teasing, though. Elliot has met his match on a girl who is as loving as he, and I couldn't be happier that he finally found someone who he cares deeply about.

I'm secretly glad his relationship with Kate didn't work out because I never really liked her in the first place. She is a good friend to Ana and all, so I try to be civil towards her when she visits, but there's something about her that rubs me the wrong way. She tries to hide her obvious attraction towards me, and I don't bring it up to Ana because I don't want to cause problems in their friendship. It's not my place to tell her who she can be friends with, so I let it go and ignore her most of the time.

I shake my head and walk up to my wife. "Hey, beautiful," I smile and wrap my arms around her waist. I cup her jean covered ass, and she laughs and swats my hands away.

"Hey, you," she giggles as I chuckle and nuzzle her neck. I give her a little tap on her ass before walking towards my mother.

"Mom," I kiss her on the cheek causing her to smile at me affectionately.

My mother and I have always had a special bond. Growing up she was the best mother who would always spend time with us. She would always help me with my homework and help me study for tests. She would attend sporting events, plays and volunteer at any event we had going on at school. Ella would always express how much she loved us every single day, and I can honestly say I wouldn't be the man I am today without her.

"Hi, honey," she pats my cheek lovingly before going back to preparing dinner.

"Christian, it's good to see you again," Aleida smiles as she comes forward to hug me.

"Likewise," I hug her back and kiss her cheek.

Elliot and dad walk into the kitchen. Dad zeros in on mom and Elliot automatically goes to his girlfriend, wrapping her into his arms. I roll my eyes when he dramatically drags her away.

When everything is cooked and set onto plates, we all take our seats at the dining table. We start eating, making light conversation for a few minutes before mom turns her attention towards Ana.

"So, Ana, are you excited for the summer?"

"Yes, I am. School lets out in two weeks for a break, and it's been hectic with tests and prep, but I'm looking forward to having some time off," she says in relief before taking another bite of her pot roast.

Dad strikes up a conversation about what we all can do this summer as a family after mom and Ana talk more about the past school year.

Elliot and Aleida look nervous throughout dinner, causing me to frown several times. They talk in hush voices for a few minutes before staring at Ana and me apprehensively. I quirk an eyebrow at him in question, and he gives me a small smile before turning back to his girlfriend.

My eyes narrow when mom and dad stare at me strangely. I look towards Ana, and she's busy eating and seems not to notice how weird everyone is acting. I sigh and take a drink of my beer before speaking.

"Okay, what is going on? You all have been acting weird all day."

Everyone stops eating and stares at me with trepidation while Ana stares at me confused.

I see dad swallow nervously before turning his eyes towards Elliot.

"Elliot?" I narrow my eyes at him.

He sighs and then takes a deep breath before looking over at Aleida. She nods and smiles at him while she takes his hand.

"We have some news, and we don't know how you would feel about it," he blows out a breath and stares at Ana.

"What is it?" Ana nods and puts her fork down.

I look at Elliot perplexed and quite frankly, I'm starting to get pissed because nobody is telling us what the hell is going on. The strange looks. The hushed whispers are starting to fucking annoy me. They have been acting off all day, No, they have been acting weird all damn week, and they won't tell me why.

"Well?" I nearly snapped in frustration because no one is answering my fucking question.

"We are ah…we…," Elliot stammers before clearing his throat awkwardly and trying again.

"Were pregnant," he blurts out.

My eyes widen, and my fork slips from my fingers, and it loudly falls onto the table. I stare at them in shock, as well as Ana.

 _Pregnant?_ What the hell?

My breathing picks up when Elliot places his hand on her stomach. I stare at his hand, in shock at what he just said.

 _Pregnant._

I see Ana look down at her plate, her hair falling into her face, hiding her expression from me. Everybody stares at us nervously, waiting for our reaction to the big news.

"Say something, because I'm about to go crazy here," Elliot chuckles unamusingly while mom and dad nod in agreement.

I hear Ana take a deep breath and look up from her plate. She has a fake smile plastered on her face when she gets up and hugs Aleida.

"Congratulations. That's wonderful," she declares enthusiastically, but I know my wife. I can hear the masked hurt in her voice.

"Thank you," Aleida smiles in relief and hugs her back.

Elliot stares at her nervously before bringing her into a hug. He kisses her forehead and lingers for a few seconds before squeezing her shoulder.

"Bro?" Elliot stares intently at me.

I blink and swallow hard when I realize my hands are balled into fists under the table. I relax my hands and plaster a smile on my face and get up and pat him on the back.

"Congrats. You're going to be an amazing father," I nod, and he smiles and quickly hugs me.

"Thanks, man. That means a lot," he says before stepping back.

I kiss Aleida on the cheek and congratulate her before returning to my seat. Ana gives me a tight smile and takes my hand into hers. I note that her hand is shaking slightly, so I squeeze her hand to let her know I'm here.

"I know it's a shock. We have only been dating for a few months, and I never thought I would be one of those women who get pregnant on birth control," Aleida chuckles as Elliot snorts.

"Oh, I'm so excited, though. My first grandbaby," mom gushes as dad smiles and takes her hand.

I close my eyes and look down for a second before picking up my beer and taking a big gulp.

"How…how far along are you?" Ana stammers, and then clears her throat.

"Six weeks," she smiles and places her hand on her stomach.

Ana smiles tightly before finishing her dinner. We all finish our meal and talk for another twenty minutes about all things baby causing me to ball my hands into fists under the table once more. After that, I announce that we are going to head home. Ana offers to help wash the dishes, but mom waves her off and tells her she has it under control and that it's dad's turn to help clean up tonight. Dad, of course, rolls his eyes and then pouts causing mom to swat his arm in amusement.

After saying goodbye, Ana and I get into my truck and head home. At a stop light, I take out a cigarette and light it before glancing at Ana who is staring out her window. We don't talk on the way home until we shut our front door.

"Do you want some cookies?" Ana beams at me, but I can tell it's forced once again.

I stand in front of her with my hands in my pockets with a blank look on my face.

"Sure" I murmur as I walk towards the living room.

She busies herself in the kitchen while I sit there in my recliner with my hands on both my knees, gazing at the wall.

"Do you want to take a trip maybe this summer?" Ana calls out from the kitchen, but I don't answer her.

"Maybe drive to Seattle? Take a weekend trip? Yes, that will be perfect," she chuckles unamusingly while I slowly turn my head towards her.

She starts humming to herself before taking things out of the refrigerator and almost forcefully places it on the kitchen island. Her forced smile still plastered on her face.

I should go over there and comfort her right now, but I can't seem to make my legs cooperate. I know she is hurting, and I can see in her eyes that she is about to break down, but I just can't deal with anything right now. I feel numb almost.

"I'm going to take a shower."

My voice is void of emotion. My facial expression more than likely matches my voice as I get up from the chair and walk towards our bathroom. I know I just took a shower before going over to my parents tonight, but I need to do something. I need to get away from Ana right now because I feel like I could say something I will come to regret.

I strip off my clothes in a daze before almost tripping on my way towards the shower. I turn on the shower and set the water to the highest setting before leaning on the shower wall with my hands. The scolding water beats down on my head and back while I stare at the shower floor.

My brother's girlfriend is pregnant. My brother who just practically got together with his girlfriend a few months ago is having a baby. A baby that my wife and I so desperately want but can't have.

 _It's fucking, not fair!_

I start laughing almost bitterly while the water continues to rain down onto my back. I stop laughing when I faintly hear my wife's cries coming from the kitchen. Suddenly, instant rage and intense jealousy hit me like a ton of bricks causing me to yell out and punch the tile wall repeatedly with my fist.

I don't know how long I punch the wall when I feel Ana's hands gently guiding me out of the shower. We both fall onto the tiled floor, and it's then I realize I am crying and shaking. Blood covers my knuckles causing Ana to frantically look for some towels, so that she can wrap my hands.

She gets my hands wrapped up in the towel before staring up at me with tears streaming down her face. She then wraps her arms around me as we both sit there on the floor of our bathroom weeping into each other's arms.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Ana**_

It's been a week since Elliot, and his girlfriend announced they were having a baby. When they revealed the news, I was speechless. I knew they were only dating for a brief time, and then announcing their unexpected pregnancy was something that I would never have thought when they had something to tell us that night.

I am happy for Elliot, but I can't help feeling jealous and hurt that we still aren't able to have a baby of our own. Christian and I have been trying for over a year and can't get pregnant whether they get pregnant on birth control, not even a month after they started dating.

It's not fair.

I hate feeling like this. I hate feeling this intense jealousy when I see Elliot's girlfriend rubbing her stomach and knowing that there is a life growing inside of her and I am not able to experience.

I also hate that Christian is acting distant this last week. More distant than he was when we were trying to have a baby a few months ago. He won't talk to me, and when he does end up speaking to me, he only gives me one-word answers.

In the end, I just hope that he doesn't resent me for not being able to give him a baby. I would hate to lose him because I can't give him a child.

Feeling heartbroken, I called my mom the day after the dinner, crying my eyes out. I was so upset that mom and dad immediately left work and drove over to our house and sat with me practically the entire day, letting me cry on their shoulder. Christian had gone into work while I took a sick day.

Mom and dad again offered to help with another round of IVF, but again, I declined their offer. I know that we can't afford a baby right now, and I don't want to make that decision when Christian wasn't there.

Elliot has been trying to call me this week, but I have left his calls unanswered. I know I'm being petty, and he didn't do anything wrong, but right now I just need time. Christian relayed my reasoning of silence, but that doesn't stop him from trying to contact me throughout the week.

* * *

It's dinner time, and I am finishing up the pasta when Christian walks into the front door. He sighs and gives me a small smile when he comes into the kitchen after taking off his boots.

He gives me a peck on the cheek before saying he is going to take a shower and leaves the kitchen without another word.

I sigh and cover the pasta sauce, so it can stay warm before heading into the bathroom.

I hate this distance between us and I need to somehow try to lighten up the depressed mood that we are both seem to be in. I take off my black flats before taking off my earrings and placing them in my jewelry box. I strip off my clothes and step into the shower behind him.

Christian is rinsing the soap off his hair when I wrap my arms around his waist. He slightly tenses when I kiss across his shoulder blades while rubbing my hands down his abs, but before I can go any lower, he grabs my hands causing me to frown.

"I'm not in the mood, Ana," he murmurs as he steps away from me.

I sigh and watch him wash his body and face. He turns his back to me and continues to shower, completely ignoring me. He has done this the whole week, keeping me at a distance. I know he's hurting from his brother's news, but I don't know what else to do or say.

My lip trembles as I leave him to his shower and hurriedly dry off before putting on a t-shirt and jean shorts. I put my wet hair in a messy bun before going back into the kitchen.

Trying not to cry, I plate our food and set the plates and forks on the dining table. I grab a beer for Christian and a bottle of water for me and set them by our plates of pasta.

I wipe my eyes and take a deep breath before grabbing the salad bowl that is full of salad and place it in the middle of the table with the smaller salad plates. I roll my eyes when I see that I forgot the dressing for the salad. I open the refrigerator to grab the salad dressing and bringing it back to the table. When I sit down in my seat, Christian appears from the bedroom dressed in a pair of pajama pants and a white t-shirt.

Still ignoring me, he sits down at the head of the table and fills his plate with salad. I follow suit before we start eating in silence. After a few awkward moments, he speaks.

"I think we should do another round of IVF."

I freeze and stare at him in surprise. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. I think it's time to accept your parents offer. Don't you?" he quirks an eyebrow.

"No. Christian we already agreed that we would wait. Remember our finances?" I frown.

He rolls his eyes and takes a long sip of beer. I stare at him confused at why he suddenly changed his mind.

"It's not like Elliot has more money than us, and they are having a baby," he shrugs.

"So, what. It's not like they were trying to have a baby, we were. We know we can't have a baby now because of money. We have that choice, and I think we should wait until we're more financially stable," I say frustrated.

"The garage is doing better, Anastasia. It was just a little bump in the road. We can try again," he argues causing me to rub my temples in irritation.

"Christian, I don't think it's a good idea," I deeply sigh.

He narrows his eyes at me. "Why don't you want to have a baby with me, Ana?"

My eyes widen, and I put my hands down from my face. "Excuse me? Of course, I do. Why would you say that?"

He angerly drops his fork on his plate and glares at me. "Because you refuse to try again."

"I am not refusing! I just want to wait for a bit longer. That's all!" I shout.

He shoves his chair back and gets up. He leans over and puts his hands on the table. "Bullshit! What is the real reason, Anastasia?"

"That is the real reason! What the hell are you talking about?" I snap, and he grits his teeth.

"No, it's not. You're afraid to try again because you know the procedure won't work. Or are you refusing to have my baby because you don't want to have one? What is it?" he shouts.

I get up from my chair and glare at him. "Of course, it won't work! I can't give you a baby, Christian! It didn't work the first time, what makes you think that it's going to work now magically?"

Christian breaths heavily while glaring at me. I look away and cross my arms over my chest and try not to cry.

"You don't know that Anastasia," he growls and leans back and starts to pace the kitchen.

I walk away and lean my hands on the kitchen island and take a deep breath. Christian continues to pace behind me as I try to calm down.

Christian is wrong. Of course, I want to have his baby more than anything, but I'm scared. I'm scared of having my parents pay for it, and it doesn't work a second time.

My head falls forward in defeat as tears start to leak from my eyes.

"I'm scared that if we try again, and it doesn't work, then I'm a failure. I want to give you a baby so bad, but I'm afraid of never having one. I don't want to disappoint you again. You have been so distant here lately," I choke back a sob as I tell him my fear.

Christian sighs and I hear him walk over to me and turns me around and wraps me into his arms. I lean my head on his shoulder as my tears continue to fall. He kisses my forehead and then speaks.

"I can never be disappointed in you. Yes, I've been disappointed that it's not working, but never at you. I'm sorry for yelling," he says against my forehead.

"It's just hard. It's hard for me to know that your brother is going to have a baby and were not. It's not fair," I stammer as fresh tears fall.

"I know it isn't fair. I fell the same, baby," he squeezes me and lays his head on the top of mine.

We stand there holding each other for a few minutes before he speaks. "We don't have to do the IVF again if you really don't want too."

I think about it for a few minutes. I know I don't want to go through the procedure again, since it was overwhelming and draining for me, but I know that having it done will increase our chances of conceiving. Some part of me wants to try again on our own and see if we can get pregnant without the IVF.

I explain to him my thoughts, and he thinks in silence for several minutes. He sighs and nods his head reluctantly. "Okay. We can do that. Can you at least start taking the medication again?" he asks hesitantly.

"The clomid?" I frown up at him.

"Yes. It will help you ovulate, right?" he nods.

"Yeah. Okay, ill start taking it again. I will call Doctor Greene tomorrow to see if she can prescribe it to me," I give him a small smile.

He sighs in relief and softly kisses my hair. "Thank you, baby."

"Were doing this?" I bite my lip and stare up at him.

He smiles and nods. "We're doing this."

* * *

 _ **AN: I'm sorry it's so short and I wanted to combine the next chapter with this one, but it didn't go together so I decided to just keep the original chapters separate.**_

 _ **Thank you for all who reviewed the last chapter. I know many of you were asking when they will get some happy news of their own? Unfortunately. it won't be for a while since I really want this to be realistic and show true pregnancy struggles that some go through. For many couples, conceiving doesn't take a few short months. For me, it took over three years to finally have our third, which was frustrating and heartbreaking since we did see people in our family have a baby where we were still trying for a while. It sucks, but I hope you all bare with me?**_

 _ **I only have two more pre-written chapters, and I am going on vacation the first weekend in August, so I won't have time to write or probably update that following week, but I will try my best in getting chapter 19 out to you soon.**_

 _ **Thank you all for reading and reviewing. See you next week.**_


	17. Chapter 17

_**Christian**_

"Christian, honey are you okay?" my mom's voice startles me from my thoughts.

I look over my shoulder and see her leaning on the doorway to the office staring at me in concern. I sigh and turn around and go back to my paperwork that I was working on earlier.

"I'm fine," I murmur as I pick up several invoices.

Mom sighs and walks into the office and over towards me. She places her hand on my shoulder before speaking. "You don't look fine," she says hesitantly.

"I'm fine, mom," I sigh and put the invoices down.

Mom squeezes my shoulder before walking towards Elliot's desk and picks up the sonogram picture that he has framed on his desk.

I swallow thickly when she smiles at it before putting it back down on the desk.

"You were surely burning a hole in this picture," she nods towards the frame.

I sigh, "I was not."

"I'm sorry, honey."

"Nothing to apologize for, mother," I grumble.

She exhales before walking towards me again. She stands beside me, staring at my picture frames that litter my desk. I have three photos of Ana and me throughout our relationship. One of the pictures is us on our honeymoon to Seattle. The second picture was a random selfie that I took of us one-weekend last year, and the third was a photo taken at a party we attended that was hosted by Carla's law firm a few years ago.

Mom smiles and picks up the photo from our honeymoon and traces our faces. "You look so happy here, honey. I just love this picture," she murmurs as she stares down at it.

"I am always happy when I'm with her," I crack a smile as I stare at the picture of me kissing the side of Ana's head.

She carefully places the picture back on my desk before kissing my forehead. "I'll let you get back to work," she murmurs as she combs my hair back with her fingers.

I nod and stare back down at the papers in front of me as she leaves my office leaving me with my thoughts.

It's been a few weeks since Ana started back on the medication to help her ovulate. We both decided to not stress on having a baby and just to enjoy our time trying as we did in the beginning.

Looking back on our past fight about the IVF causes me to sigh in defeat. I know Ana doesn't want to do the procedure again, but I think it will help our chances of having a baby. I understand Ana's reasoning and fear of not wanting to do it again, and that's why I asked if we can at least try again with the medication.

This whole pregnancy thing with my brother got me thinking of wanting to try again. I know it's a smarter thing to do is wait until we are more financially stable, but on the other hand, I don't want to wait any longer. If we do get pregnant soon, hell the business could be fine in a few months, and everything could go back to normal, money wise.

I wasn't lying to Ana when I said that the garage was doing better this last month. It turns out that the fucker, Lincoln, isn't a good businessman. I have heard from their past customers who won't step foot in that garage again due to poor management and increased repair fees. Most of our services are half of what they charge, and one customer the other day complained that they charged some bullshit fees for their oil change when they picked up their car.

Let's just say, that Linc fucker was not happy of his loss in customers these last few weeks.

I lean back in my chair and crack a smile when I look out in the garage and see five cars being worked on. The business is still slower than it has been in years, but we are slowly getting back to where we were last year profit wise.

My eyes stray down to the picture frames once more causing me to smile when I stare at my wife's smiling face.

Suddenly I have an urge to hear my wife's voice. I grab my phone and hit Ana's number. She picks up on the third ring.

"Hey."

"Hi. How is your day?" I lean back in my chair.

"Good. Just watching a series that caught my eye on Netflix."

"Oh yeah? Is it good?" I chuckle.

"It is. It's called Hemlock Grove. I swear the main character in this show could be Elliot's doppelganger," she giggles causing me to chuckle.

"I bet that character is ugly as fuck then," I laugh as Ana gasps into the phone.

"Christian! That's mean," she tries not to laugh.

"Just wanted to hear your voice, baby. I miss you," I sigh.

"I miss you too. Are you okay?" I can hear the concern in her voice.

"I'm fine. Nothing is wrong, just miss you today. I hate working on Saturday's and leaving you alone," I exhale and lean my head back against my chair.

I usually don't work Saturday's, but since we had to fire the mechanic a while back who usually worked on Saturday's. I had to step in on the weekends to help Elliot who usually works a few days a week as well as the weekend. Dad is working on finding a replacement, so I don't have to work every Saturday since I work all week.

"I hate it too, but I understand that your dad needs you," she sighs.

"He has an interview today for the position. I'll let you know."

"Okay."

"I'll let you go so you can watch your show," I playfully rolled my eyes.

"Okay. I love you," she giggles.

"I love you too, see you later," I chuckle and then hang up right when Elliot walks into the office.

"Was that buttercup?" he nods towards my phone.

"Yes, just calling to check in," I nod.

"What is she doing?" he quirks an eyebrow.

"Watching some show, she found on Netflix. She said the main character could be your ugly twin," I smirk, and he gives me the middle finger.

He sits down at his desk and sighs. I look up from the papers on my desk. He looks tired with dark circles under his eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Just tired. Didn't get a lot of sleep last night," he groans and puts his feet up on the desk.

"Did the girlfriend keep you up with sex or something?" I snort.

He rolls his eyes. "I wish. She was up puking her guts out most of the night. Morning sickness has hit full force," he groans miserably.

I shrug because I wouldn't know. I swallow thickly and finish looking over some reports before signing onto my computer.

"So…," Elliot puts his feet down and stares at me.

"What, Elliot?" I sigh in annoyance.

He clears his throat and opens his mouth to speak but closes his mouth and looks away. I quirk an eyebrow at him when he looks around the office, almost awkwardly.

"Never mind. I'm going to get back out there," he gestures to the garage.

I narrow my eyes at him when he gets up from his chair and heads into the garage.

* * *

"Eddie, hand me that wrench," I say as I lean over to look under the hood of a car.

He hands me the wrench after I wipe my sweaty forehead with my shirt. Before I can get back under the hood, I hear mom's voice behind me.

"Christian, look who's here."

I turn around to see Ana standing beside my mother. I smile as she bites her lip and walks towards me. Mom smirks and walks back towards the office.

"Hey."

"Hi, sexy," she purrs.

She reaches me and smashes her lips to mine causing me to stand still in shock for a few seconds. I groan as she runs her hands through my hair as I squeeze her ass.

"I missed you," she says against my lips.

"I missed you too," I smile and kiss her nose.

"I know we just talked, but I couldn't wait to see you. Do you mind if I wait in the office?" she says as she pecks me on my lips.

"Of course not. I'll be just a few more minutes," I kiss her again before letting her go.

It takes me a little while longer to finish under the car, but when I am finally done, I wipe my hands on a towel and head towards the office.

I'm surprised when I open the door and see Elliot, Aleida, and Ana talking and laughing. Aleida sits on Elliot's lap while Ana sits in my chair giggling at something that Elliot says.

"Having fun?" I smirk as I walk towards my wife.

"Tons," Elliot wiggles his eyebrows at Ana causing me to roll my eyes.

I lean down and peck her on the lips. She smiles up at me. "Are you ready to go?" she asks before standing up.

I nod and gather my wallet, phone, and keys from my desk. I am just about to take Ana's hand into mine before the office door suddenly opens. I frown in confusion when I see dad in the doorway looking pissed.

"Elliot, Christian. I need you," he snaps before storming out of the office.

"Shit," Elliot hisses and moves his girlfriend off his lap.

Ana looks at me worriedly. "Stay here," I demand before walking after Elliot.

Walking into the garage I see mom and dad standing in front of that fucker Linc and his wife, Elena.

"What the hell is going on?" Elliot snaps.

"This prick here seems to think we are deliberately stealing his customers," dad hisses practically in the prick's face.

"You are stealing them! Your bastard son over there is telling lies about my garage!" he angerly points to me.

I grit my teeth while I glare at the fucker. "My son did no such thing. It's not our fault you don't know how to run a business," dad snorts.

"Who do you think you are?" he pushes dad causing Elliot and me to lunge forward.

Dad tries to lunge for him, but Elliot holds him back. Mom puts her hand on dad's face causing him to calm down.

"You better back the fuck off!" I spit in his face.

"What are you going to do about it, pretty boy?" he puffs out his chest and glares at me.

We glare at each other for a few seconds before he walks backward a few feet.

"Elena, this is the dick you have a silly crush on?" he scoffs and looks over his shoulder.

I narrow my eyes at her as she looks suddenly embarrassed. "What the hell are you talking about?" I frown in frustration.

"Nothing. My husband doesn't know what he is talking about," she chuckles humorously.

"Of course, I know. You have been prancing around this joke of a garage ever since we moved here. Don't play dumb with me, Elena," he turns around and glares at her.

I look at them confused as hell on what the fuck they are going on about. I look behind me and see dad, Elliot, and mom watching on in annoyance. I spot Ana and Aleida standing by the open office. Ana rolls her eyes when Elena starts going on her silly spiel.

"Oh, go screw yourself, Richard. _Fine!_ I was trying to get his attention, so what? He was never interested anyway," she rolls her eyes and flips her hair.

"You are a fucking bitch. I hope your happy with this fucker because we're done!" he spits out at her causing her eyes to widen in panic.

He turns to me, and I quirk an eyebrow. "Good luck paying for her Botox treatments. They're expensive," he hisses at me before storming his way out of the garage.

I sigh in irritation and then roll my eyes when Elena scurries off behind him while yelling out his name in protest.

I turn around to see my family staring at me in amused confusion. "That was eventful," Elliot scoffs before taking out a cigarette.

I shake my head at this whole ridiculous situation. That asshole came over here accusing us of stealing his customers, and then went off track and got pissed at his wife due to her _wanting me_?

Ana sighs as she walks towards me. She puts her arms around my neck and stares at me in concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. That was fun," I roll my eyes before kissing her forehead.

"I'll say," she snorts.

"Come on, let's go home," I sigh and take her hand in mine.

* * *

 _ **AN: Early update!**_

 _ **I hate to do this, but I am going to place this story on hold for the time being. I want to write out the rest of this story and post it, so I can give regular updates. School for my kids is also approaching soon and I will be busy getting ready for that. I want to redo chapter 18 since I didn't like how it turned out, so no update after this one for a while. Sorry about this, but I promise to finish this story and hopefully it won't take too long to write.**_

 _ **Just in case you were wondering, Ana and Christian will get to have a baby, not going to drag it out until 50 chapters or anything, but there will be time jumps in the upcoming chapters.**_

 _ **I hope you all bear with me with the absence. Thank you all for the reviews and following this story. I appreciate all the support :)**_

 _ **Pinterest has been updated. See you all soon.**_


	18. Chapter 18

_**AN: Changed the timeline of this chapter due to a huge mistake on the timeline of this story. Leila would have had her baby already since it's been well over nine months. *facepalm* Sorry about that, and thank you MrsAnastasiaGrey for pointing that out.**_

* * *

 _ **Christian**_

"You sure you don't want to come with us?" Ana pouts as she packs her overnight bag.

"I can't babe. Dad needs me at the garage," I sigh and kiss her forehead before she continues packing her bag.

It's been a while since the Lincoln freakshow at the garage, and I'm pleased to report that everything has returned to normal. Well, finance wise.

It turned out that Lincoln was a horrible businessman, which caused him to lose his customer base. We got our regular customers back, as well as new ones which caused our finances to return to where they were last year.

Lincoln and his wife ended up getting a divorce and he left her to deal with the business, while he ran off to California with his assistant. Last I heard was Elena hiring other managers to oversee the company while she moved to back to Seattle where they supposedly lived before they moved here.

Despite their garage still down the street, we're again turning a reasonable profit and business is still increasing, so I'm not too worried about the garage's future.

"Who is she getting married to again?" I frown as I help Ana pack her bag.

Ana and her parents are going to visit family in Nebraska for her cousin's wedding that is tomorrow. I can't go with Ana due to the increased work at the garage and dad couldn't find any other mechanic to double their hours this week.

"He's some businessman who is originally from London. I can't remember his name. Something that starts with a J?" Ana twists her lips.

"How long have they known each other?"

"Not long. I think mom said a few months?" she shrugs and zips up her bag.

"Is she pregnant or something? Why the rush?" I frown as she puts her arms around my neck.

"Mom didn't say she was pregnant. I have no idea. She said that they met at a fundraiser and hit it off. He proposed, and she said yes," she said matter of factly.

"Well, I wish I could come with you baby. Our bed is going to be too big without you," I pout, and she giggles.

"I know, but she wanted us there at her wedding. Plus, I haven't seen Jenna in a while. It will be good to catch up with her before her honeymoon," she runs her hand through my hair.

"You be careful okay? Call me when you land?" I sigh.

"I will the second I can. I love you," she smiles and pecks me on the lips.

I deepen the kiss, but it doesn't go further because the front doorbell rings. Ana groans against my lips. "That's mom. Got to go. I love you."

"I love you too," I smack her ass before she picks up her bag and luggage.

She giggles and walks towards the front door. I follow behind her and say a quick hello to her parents before kissing Ana goodbye. They all wave from the car before taking off down the street.

I sigh and turn around to go back inside, but Carrick and Grace wave at me from their porch causing me to stop and wave back.

"Evening, Christian," Grace says sweetly.

"Evening," I smile and walk towards them.

"Did Ana get off okay?" Grace asks while she knits what looks like a scarf.

"Yeah," I sigh as I walk up the steps with my hands in my jean pockets.

I shake Carrick's hand before kissing Grace on her cheek.

I notice music coming from inside their house. I quirk an eyebrow when I hear giggling and then running.

"Mia has her friends over for the evening," Carrick chuckles at my curious expression.

I smirk and then nod. Suddenly the front door opens to reveal Mia and four of her friends smiling right at me. I smile tightly at them when a few of them flip their hair and quietly giggle.

"Mr. Trevelyan can Christian stay for dinner?" one of the girls asks while biting her lip.

Mia blushes before glaring at her friend. "I don't see why not. Christian, would you like to stay for dinner?" Carrick smiles while taking off his reading glasses.

I glance over at our house for a few seconds in hesitation. I was going to make a sandwich for dinner, but with Ana gone for a few days, I don't want to eat alone tonight.

"That would be great. Thanks," I nod at Carrick.

"Wonderful. Girls," Grace gestures to the house.

Grace rolls her eyes in amusement when they giggle and head into the house. Carrick chuckles as he gestures for me to follow behind his wife.

I rub my hands together in nervousness when Carrick follows me into the house. He closes the door and pats my back before gesturing towards the kitchen.

"Would you like some wine?" I follow him into the kitchen.

"Not really a wine drinker," I chuckle as he does the same.

"Well, we have water, beer, tea, lemonade?" he says while he looks through the refrigerator.

"Beer sounds good," I sigh as I sit down at the kitchen table.

He nods as he grabs a beer from the fridge. He hands me a bottle of Shiner Bock before pouring himself some white wine.

"Thanks," I smile at him before taking a sip of my beer.

"So, Christian, how is it going?" one of Mia's friends suddenly appears to my right.

"Good," I give her a tight smile before taking another sip of my beer.

"No, wife tonight?" she smirks as she flips her blonde hair over her shoulder.

"She's out of town for a wedding," I grumble as I peel the wrapper off the beer bottle.

"You must be so lonely," she pouts and places her hand on my arm.

I try not to roll my eyes at her while moving over, so her hand slips off my arm.

Carrick notices my annoyed expression when he turns back around to sit next to me at the table. "So, Lillian, how is school?"

I breathe a sigh of relief when she turns her attention towards Carrick. Grace comes over to the table and gives me a sympathetic smile before placing a bowl of dinner rolls down onto the table. I smile gratefully and grab a dinner roll as she goes back into the kitchen.

After a few minutes, Mia and her other friends join us at the table. Mia smiles shyly at me before sitting down next to Carrick. Her other friends smile and giggle at me before whispering to each other. This time I do roll my eyes when they are not looking causing Mia to look down in embarrassment.

 _Are high school girls always this annoying?_

Grace brings the rest of the food onto the table, and we all eat and conversate for over an hour before I let them know that I am going to head home. Mia's friends look crestfallen when I turn them down when they asked me to stay and watch a movie with them. I inwardly shiver in disgust when I think about spending any more time in their presence. All I want to do right now is go home and facetime Ana before she heads to bed for the night since her cousin's wedding is tomorrow.

After kissing Grace on the cheek and saying goodbye to Carrick, I head out. When I close the front door, I walk down the steps and pull out a cigarette and light it before the front door opens, and Mia's friend Lillian comes out onto the front porch.

I scowl and exhale and turn around when she smiles and bites her lip while walking over to me. _What now?_

"Why the rush?" she purrs while following behind me.

"Going home. Goodnight," I growl and walk up the steps to my front door.

Before I can get the door open, she grabs my arm. "I heard about your wife's little problem," she pants as I turn around and glare at her.

"Excuse me?" I scowl.

"I heard that your wife couldn't give you a baby. You know I have no problem offering you my services?" she smirks and runs her hands up my chest as I look at her in shock.

She looks at me with lust in her green eyes causing me to look at her in repugnance as I grab her hands that are slowly working their way down my abs.

"Get the fuck off my porch," I snap as I practically throw her off me.

She doesn't seem to get the hint because she gives me another smirk and tries to grab my crotch. I move away from her before she can touch me further.

"I said get off my porch," I yell causing her to back up in shock.

I growl at her while opening my door, but this chick has other plans and runs towards me causing me almost to fall backward as she appears in the doorway. She glares at me while slamming the door as I look at her dumbfounded.

"What the hell! Get the fuck out of my house!" I shout as she saunters towards me.

"So, tense. I bet I can help with that," she smirks and continues to walk towards me.

I had enough of this bitch. I lunge towards her and grab her by the upper arm and almost drag her to the door trying to dodge her hand that is still trying to cup my crotch.

I throw her on the porch causing her to almost fall to the side in her stupid high heels. "Get out of here before I call the police," I shout, and she stares at me in anger.

"Fuck you, asshole. You know where to find me when your bitch of a wife doesn't give you want I can," she smiles smugly at me before turning around and walking away.

"Fucking psycho," I yell after her as I slam the door and pant in anger before throwing myself in my recliner and putting my head in my hands.

 _What the fuck just happened?_

I take a deep breath and run my hand through my hair and try to calm down. I flex my hands that are still slightly shaking and fall back onto the chair and close my eyes for a few minutes.

I don't know what that bitch's problem and I have no idea how she found out about our struggle to conceive a baby. I don't think that Carrick or Grace would say anything to Mia, so I am at a loss on how she found out about it. I shake my head and breath in and out before I close my eyes once again.

* * *

I startle awake after dozing off in my chair to a pounding at the front door. I groan when I think it's that bitch coming back and for a second I contemplate ignoring it, but I get up after I hear a loud cry coming from beyond the door.

" _Christian!"_

I frown when I hear Leila's voice. I throw open the door when I see her cupping her stomach and looking at me in panic.

"What the hell? Are you okay?" I rush towards her and help her into the house.

"No! I think I am in labor," she cries as she holds her stomach.

My eyes widen as I help her sit down in my recliner. "How did you get here?"

"I've been having Braxton hicks' contractions all day, and I thought that a walk would help and keep my mind off it. When I was walking, my water broke, and I stupidly forgot my phone, so that I couldn't call an ambulance. Luckily, I was near your street. Can you take me to the hospital?" she sniffles as she rubs her stomach.

I panic and look around frantically trying to find my keys while Leila cries out in pain from another contraction.

Finally finding my keys, I help her stand up and walk her to my truck while she continues to have contractions every few minutes. When I finally get her buckled in, I hop into the driver's seat, and back out of the driveway and race to the hospital.

"Where is Ana?" Leila groans after a contraction.

"She is out of town for a wedding," I explain while speeding towards the hospital.

"Oh, yeah. I totally forgot about that. I'm sorry, Christian," she starts crying again while having a vice grip on my arm.

"Why are you sorry?" I frown.

"I know that we are not your problem, so if you want, you can just drop me off at the entrance," she points to the entrance to the birthing center while panting.

"Of course, I won't just drop you off. You're crazy if you think I will just leave you here alone," I look at Leila in confusion as I park my truck by the entrance.

She looks at me gratefully and nods her head. I race to her side as she slowly gets out of the seat. I see a nurse walking towards us while holding a wheelchair. "She's in labor," I explain to the nurse causing her to smile and help Leila onto the seat.

"Follow me, please," the nurse says before wheeling Leila towards the hospital doors.

"Okay, dad, we are going to get her hooked up here. Would you tell the nurse at the desk that you are checking in your wife?" she smiles at me before wheeling Leila off towards a bed.

I was just about to correct her when she said that I need to check in my wife, but before I can say anything, the nurse at the desk started speaking. "Name, please?"

"Leila Williams," I shake my head when the nurse gives me forms to fill out.

"Okay, Mr. Williams, just sign the forms and our nurses will bring you over to the delivery room," she explains before going back to her computer.

"I'm not her husband. She is just a good friend of mine," I say as I fill out the forms.

The nurse looks up with a frown. "Well, then I can't let you back if you're not the father or family," she explains while I hand her back the forms.

I groan, and before I can explain to her that Leila wants me to be there, I hear her scream behind me.

"Please let him go with me! I have no one else," she cries as tears run down her cheeks.

The two nurses who are about to wheel her off towards a delivery room looking up at the desk nurse with a nod to let her know that I can go with them.

"Okay, sir. What is your name?" the nurse asks while they wheel Leila down the hallway.

"Christian Grey," I say as I look towards Leila in concern when she cries out in pain.

"Is that with an E or an A?" she asks while typing on her computer.

"E," I say and tap my fingers on the desk nervously.

"Wrist, please," she asks while holding out a wristband.

I give her my wrist with a frown as she places the band on my wrist and snaps it closed. The band has my name on it next to Leila's name and a room number.

"You would need that to go in and out of the delivery room floor. You can go back, now. She is in room 21," the nurse gives me a polite smile before going back to her computer.

I nod and rush towards the room, and I swallow thickly when I walk through the door and see Leila on the bed with her legs open and a doctor checking on her. I look away and stand there awkwardly not knowing what to do.

"This way," a nurse smiles at me before gesturing to stand next to Leila's side.

"Your wife is almost fully dilated and is about ready to push," the doctor smiles at me.

"I'm not her husband. Friend," I explain and wipe my sweaty hands on my jeans.

"Oh, I see. Well, she is almost there," She smiles before turning her attention back to Leila.

Leila suddenly grabs my hand as a contraction hits her. She screams and throws her head back in pain as a nurse wipes her head with a damp washcloth.

"Okay, Mrs. Williams, you are fully dilated. It's time to push," the doctor says.

I start to sweat while she begins to push. I wince when she crushes my hand and screams out. "It burns. Oh, my God."

I grimace and look towards Leila as she continues to push through the contractions. After a few minutes, the doctor looks up and encourages her to do a final push since the baby is crowning. Leila is yelling and telling us that she can't push anymore. I swallow nervously and look around the room in a panic. _Fuck, I need to do something._

Leila screams out as I lean over and place my hand on her head and run my hand through her hair. She looks me in the eye, and I give her an encouraging smile causing her to weakly smile back as tears run down her cheeks.

After a few seconds of pushing, we hear a piercing cry. My eyes widen when I see a tiny baby in the arms of the doctor who is cleaning out her nose and mouth with a blue suction thing.

"It's a girl," the doctor says before placing the baby on Leila's stomach. Leila breaks out in tears as she gets a good look at her daughter.

I watch in awe as Leila cradles the baby in her arms while she talks to her daughter. I smile, and my eyes get glassy as I watch the tender moment between mother and daughter.

"Would you like to cut the cord?" One of the nurses suddenly asks me.

My eyes widen once more, and I look nervously at Leila who looks towards me having heard the nurse.

"It's okay, Christian. Thank you for being here with me," she smiles before grabbing the scissors and cutting the cord herself.

"Thank you for allowing me to be here. She is beautiful, Leila. What is her name?" I smile as I come forward and look down at the baby. She has a head full of dark brown hair and when the baby opens her little eyes, I see that they are a deep brown.

Leila beams up at me before staring down at her daughter. "Annabelle Christine."

I tenderly smile at Leila before squeezing her arm gently. "That's a good name," I chuckle as the nurse takes the baby to get cleaned up.

"Thank you. You guys have been such good friends to me. Thank you," she smiles up at me before patting my hand.

"Anytime," I nod with a smile as we both watch the nurse wrap Annabelle in a pink blanket.

"Here you go, mommy," the nurse smiles before handing her off to her mother.

"Thank you," Leila smiles and holds the baby close to her chest.

"You can leave her swaddled if you want, and whenever you are ready, you can do some skin to skin with her," the nurse explains.

Leila nods and decides to unwrap Annabelle and do just that. I smile as she rubs her back while kissing her on the head. I stand beside the bed looking down at the baby for a while as Leila holds her close to her chest.

In the silence of the room, I can't help but become even more excited when the day finally comes when I will be doing this with Ana. I just hope that it soon becomes a reality for us because I can't imagine not being a father and I know that Ana can't imagine not being a mother someday.

* * *

 _ **AN:**_

 _ **I rewrote this chapter, and I decided to just try to get out updates when I can instead of waiting to post the rest of the story, which will probably take a while. I'm sorry for going back and forth with what I was going to do, but I will try my best to give you updates on a regular basis.**_

 _ **So, Leila had her baby, and the drama with her and the father is coming up in the next several chapters. I am planning on doing a time jump soon and get the story progressing to where I want it to be.**_

 _ **Thank you so much for following and reviewing. I will try to update the next chapter here soon. :) Pinterest has been updated.**_


	19. Chapter 19

_**Ana**_

"So, how has it been? We haven't talked for ages it seems like," My cousin Jenna yells over the music as she leans towards me, drink in hand.

We are in a nightclub in the city where Jenna's bachelorette party is taken place the night before her wedding. We arrived in Nebraska a few hours ago, and Jenna begged me to go out with her and her friends after I told her that I didn't feel like going out. In the end, she won, and now here we are drinking margaritas and dancing the night away.

"It's been good. I'm glad it's the summer," I shrug as I take a sip of my drink.

"How's your hunk of a man?" she smirks as she dances in her seat to the beat of the music.

"He's good," I smirk back as she pouts at my response.

"Geeze, Ana, you are so lucky. Your man is fucking hot," she yells as she fans herself.

I laugh and continue to sip my margarita. "I agree," I giggle as she rolls her eyes.

"Are you excited about tomorrow?" I smile as I put my drink down on the table.

" _Hell yes!_ I can't wait," she claps excitedly causing me to laugh as her friends cheer and dance their way towards our booth.

I hadn't had the chance to meet Jenna's fiancé yet since he was taken away by his friends and colleagues to his bachelor party before I arrived at the house. They are supposedly taking him to play golf and then from there; they are going to another club a few miles from here.

"Come dance, girl," Taylor, one of Jenna's friends grabs her hand and drags her onto the dancefloor where they immediately start dancing.

Jenna's dark brown hair whips around her face as she throws her hands in the air. Jenna has always been a fun, outgoing person. She is only two years younger than me, having majored in marketing and works for a big corporate company for the last two years. I hate that we don't see each other very often, but I am glad I got to be a part of her wedding since she was a bridesmaid in mine.

I laugh as I get up from my seat and walk towards them when she waves me over with her hands.

After ten minutes of dancing, we all go back towards the table. Suddenly, I start to get dizzy causing me to grab onto the back of the booth. Jenna looks at me in concern when I sway a little to the right.

"Are you okay, Ana?" She grabs onto my arm.

"I think so. Just got dizzy suddenly," I groan and sit down into the booth.

"Okay, yep. No more drinking for you," she pushes my drink away before sitting down beside me.

"I wasn't going to drink anymore anyway," I sigh as I rub my temples as I feel a headache coming on.

"Did you want to leave? I can call a cab for us," she stares at me in concern while she rubs my back.

"Jenna, I don't want to ruin the night for you. It's your bachelorette party," I sigh once more and automatically feel guilty that I am taking her away from having fun before her wedding.

"You didn't ruin the night for me. We're family, and I love you," she scolds me as she narrows her blue eyes at me.

"I love you too, but you need to stay and have a good time. I can just call a cab myself," I plead with her before taking out my phone from my purse.

"No. Don't do that. I will call one of John's friends come to pick you up," she grabs my phone from my hand and places it back on the table.

"John?" I frown as she takes her phone out of her purse.

"My fiancé," she says as her phone's screen brightly aluminates her face and the big smile that is plastered onto it.

I smile and nod my head while she calls someone to pick me up. After about fifteen minutes, Jenna says that they are waiting for me outside. She helps me off the booth and leads me through the crowd and out of the club doors. A black Escalade is waiting for us beside the curb, and when we approach the car, a tall red-haired guy gets out from the passenger's seat and smiles at Jenna.

"Having fun?" he winks at her causing her to giggle.

"We are. Please, take care of her and get her home," Jenna says in a serious tone before opening the back door and leans inside.

"You must be Ana. I'm David, one of John's groomsman," he smiles and sticks out his hand for me to shake.

"Yes. Nice to meet you," I smile weakly at him and shake his hand.

"Okay. Well, it looks like my fiancé had too much to drink and is dozing off in the backseat," Jenna leans back from the car and shakes her head.

"Sorry, Ana, but they are on their way to take him home, and they will drop you off," she looks at me guilty causing me to shrug.

"It's okay. No problem. Go have fun, and I will see you in the morning for your big day," I smile as she beams at me and pulls me into a big hug.

"Love you," she whispers into my ear.

"Love you too," I pull back, and she waves at David before walking back into the club.

"Let's go, little lady," David puts his hand on the small of my back and guides me into the car where Jenna's fiancé is sitting there half asleep.

David shuts the door as I settle into my seat. I put my seatbelt on before the car starts to drive away from the curb. I sigh and sit back and close my eyes while another one of David's friends drives us all home.

I open my eyes and turn my head when I hear a groan coming from beside me. It's then I get a good look at Jenna's fiancé for the first time. He is slumped down in his seat with his head turned towards me and his green eyes trained on mine. He has long, curly black hair, intelligent green eyes and a light beard that covers his jaw.

"I love her," he says almost miserably.

"I know you do," I look at him in confusion when he seems to be in pain.

"No, I mean I love _her_ ," his eyes widen when he moves so that he is sitting up on his knees.

"I know," I stare at him dumbfounded for a second before shifting uncomfortably in my seat at the way he is staring at me.

He shakes his head quickly several times before he gestures with his hands that I have it all wrong.

"No. Jenna is great. Totally a babe, but I'm not talking about her," he drunkenly smiles before looking away in deep thought.

My eyes widen in shock at what he just said. "Ah, John, give it a rest will you," David shifts in his seat and looks at him pleadingly.

"Leila. Sweet Leila," John mumbles when he falls back against the car door.

My mouth opens in utter shock when he keeps mumbling the word Leila under his breath. I open my mouth several times, but nothing comes out. _What the hell is he talking about? Who is Leila and why does he keep mentioning her?_

 _Oh, my God! Is he having an affair? He says he loves her? Oh no. Does that mean he really doesn't love Jenna?_ My mind keeps going through all sorts of scenarios and what he actually means.

Suddenly my brain catches up to what name he said. _Leila._

 _Oh no. No, it couldn't be. The name is just a coincidence, right? I mean there are a lot of people who are named Leila. Oh, please don't be who I think it is._

"Leila Williams," I murmur and automatically his friends groan, and John sits up straight.

"Yes! Do you know her?" John suddenly appears sober now and is staring at me with hope in his green eyes.

 _Oh hell! This is bad. Really bad._

My eyes slowly close and my head hits the back of the seat. I sigh and try to think about what to say because apparently, I am sitting next to Leila's baby daddy who didn't want anything to do with her or her baby.

* * *

It's the day of the wedding, and I am standing in my aunt Mary's bedroom where Jenna is getting into her wedding dress as my aunt helps her with the buttons in the back. I am staring at her nervously while my mother is busy taking pictures of her niece and sister. I smooth down my pale pink bridesmaid dress as they continue to get ready.

My mother sees me fidgeting off to the side, so she stops taking pictures and walks towards me with a frown on her face.

"Ana are you okay, honey?" she stares down at me in worry.

"Um, yeah. I just need to talk to Jenna alone about something," I say nervously.

After John's friends pulled up to my aunt's house, I told them thank you for the ride before almost jumping out of the car. His friend David tried to come after me, but I slammed the door in his face before he can even say anything. I know that they wanted me to not say anything to Jenna about what her fiancé said and I was really tempted to go back to the club and tell her everything.

After an hour of contemplating, I decided not to say anything until today, which is shitty, I know. I was not going to say anything to her at first, but since she is family and that her fiancé apparently loves another woman who he impregnated and left, I feel that she has the right to know before she marries him.

"Okay," my mother stares at me in suspicion for a second before getting my aunts attention. They hug both of us before they leave the room.

Jenna beams at me while she smooths down her wedding dress which is made with lace and has capped sleeves. She looks beautiful and for a moment, I don't want to tell her, since she looks so happy and I don't want to cause her pain on her wedding day.

 _No! I need to tell her because if she finds out that I knew, she will never forgive me._

"I need to tell you something," I whisper as I walk towards her.

She frowns a little before nodding and fixes her vail while I struggle on how to start this conversation.

"I found out about something last night, and I don't know how to tell you without breaking your heart," I wring my hands together and look everywhere but at her.

"What are you talking about?" she grabs my arm and she turns me towards her so that I can see her face.

"You see, John kept mumbling about this girl named Leila Williams," I stutter and stare down at the floor as I tell her everything about what John said. I also tell her about me being Leila's friend back home and that she is pregnant with John's baby and how he left her after she told him about the baby.

After I am done telling her everything, I look up at her, and she is staring at me with a blank look on her face. I stare down ashamed for a second before looking back up again. Jenna doesn't say anything for a minute; she just stares at me with no emotion on her face.

Finally, after a few more minutes of tense silence, she simply turns around and picks up her bouquet of flowers and fixes her hair.

"Well, let's get this show on the road, shall we?" she says enthusiastically which shocks me.

I open my mouth several times as words escape me as she stands there smiling at herself in the mirror. _Huh?_

"Jenna, di-did you hear what I just said?" I stammer as I stand stock still.

She doesn't respond but simply continues to admire her wedding dress in the mirror.

"Jenna, did you," before I can say anything else she kicks the chair startling me.

"I heard you, Ana!" she shouts and turns towards me in anger.

I swallow thickly as she stands there looking angry and hurt. I look down ashamed, and now I regret saying anything at all to her. What she says next shocks me.

"I know," she whispers.

My head shoots up, and I stare at her in shock when she starts to explain. "I've known for a while about his ex-girlfriend. John doesn't know that I know, but I heard him talking to his friends about her and their baby one day. I mean, I was extremely hurt and angry that he didn't tell me that he was going to be a father and that he just up and abandoned them," she starts whimpering and slumps down onto a nearby chair.

I rush towards her and take her hand in mine as I sit down next to her. She looks up at the ceiling and tries not to cry as she continues.

"I hear him in his sleep sometimes. He calls out her name," she closes her eyes as if she's in pain for a few seconds.

I stare at her sympathetically and squeeze her hand to let her know that I am here for her.

"Our engagement happened so quickly. I knew I loved him on our first date. I know that sound silly, but, when you know you know," she whimpers and shakes her head.

"Jenna, I don't want you to end up marrying someone that loves someone else," I murmur as she sighs and quickly wipes her nose.

"Ana, I understand that, but I _love_ him. I just can't walk away from him. I mean, he wouldn't have proposed to me if he didn't at least feel something for me," she pleads at me and my shoulders slump forward.

"Jenna, you deserve to have someone who loves you fiercely. Loves you and _only_ you. I just don't want you getting hurt," I take her other hand in mine and plead with her to understand that this wedding might not be a good idea.

I hate that she is going through this right now, but I don't think she should be getting married to someone who doesn't feel the same way about her. _Does he really?_ _I mean, am I getting this all wrong?_

She stares at me for a second before shaking her head and looking towards our conjoined hands. She looks up at me after a few minutes of silence. My heart breaks when she stares at me, her blue eyes that are like mine filled with tears.

"Who knows. Maybe one day he will love me back," she whimpers as a tear runs down her cheek.

My eyes turn glassy as she sniffles and slightly shrugs her shoulder at me before getting up and grabbing a tissue.

"Jenna," I say softly as I get up from the chair.

She turns her back to me as she wipes her eyes with the tissue. She sighs and picks up her bouquet of flowers and turns back towards me.

"I'm ready," she smiles and walks towards the door and opens it to reveal my mother and aunt are patiently waiting in the hallway near my uncle, Ron.

I sigh and dry my eyes when my aunt takes Jenna by the arm and walks down the hallway. My mother comes into the room and frowns.

"Everything okay?" she murmurs uncertainty.

I stand there in my bridesmaid dress staring at the floor not knowing what to say. I know that her marrying him is probably not a good idea, but what else can I do? I feel as though the only thing I can do is give her advice and it's up to her if she takes that advice. I know she loves him, but I don't know for sure if he truly loves her back. In the end, I don't know what his side of the story is when it comes to Leila and the baby.

I don't even know what else to say to make her understand that maybe this wedding is not meant to be, but who am I to tell her that? This is Jenna's decision to marry him, and there is nothing more I can do. I need to support Jeanna and her decision to go through with this wedding if that is what she truly wants. I just want her happy.

After a few minutes of getting myself together, I look up at my mother and nod my head.

"Everything is okay. Ready?" I put a smile to my face and take my own bouget of flowers and walk out the door and out towards the backyard where the ceremony is being held.

* * *

"Christian?" I yell out when I walk through our front door suitcase in hand.

I had finally made it home after a long flight. It's now Sunday night, and I was still exhausted from the wedding yesterday. Jenna did end up marrying John, and throughout the ceremony, he did look like he really did care about her which made me somewhat relieved. I am still very anxious about her and what will happen in the future. Who knows, their marriage might just work out in the end, and if it doesn't, then I will be there to support her _if_ that time comes.

"Hey," Christian smiles as she rounds the corner.

I launch myself at him, and he laughs as she catches me. I smash my lips to his causing him to moan into my mouth.

"I see that you missed me?" he smirks as he sets me down.

"Always," I pout and kiss him again before picking up my suitcase.

"Let me get that, babe," he grabs my suitcase, and I smile gratefully before walking into our bedroom.

I didn't get to talk with Christian before the wedding because his phone had died while I was at the club that night. He called while the wedding was going on, but I didn't get a chance to return his call until after the reception had ended, which was well after midnight.

I stayed up for a little while to tell him what happened the previous night in the car. He was surprised that Jenna was marrying Leila's ex-boyfriend, and in the end, we both decided not to say anything to Leila because she probably didn't care what he did anyway, and she told us previously that she didn't want anything to do with him. So, for now, we are going to let it go and move on. I was too tired after that to talk about anything else, so I let him go after that conversation.

"Leila had her baby," Christian sighs as he helps me with the last of my clothes.

My eyes widen as I shut the lid of the hamper. "Really?" I beam at him.

He nods and smiles tightly at me. "Wow. Oh, my God. I must go visit them. How exciting," I smile and put my hand in my pocket and take out a gum wrapper and throw it away in the trashcan in the bathroom before taking off my jeans.

When I bend down, I frown when I see a wristband in the trash that has Christian's name on it. Curiously, I pick it up and see that the band has his name and Leila's name on it as well as a room number. I deeply frown at the band for a second before walking out of the bathroom to see Christian putting away a pair of my shoes.

"Did you see Leila and the baby already?" I frown as I show him the wristband.

He nods as he walks over to me. "She actually came to the house in labor," he shakes his head and tells me the story on how he drove her to the hospital and was in the delivery room with her when she was given birth since she had no one there to guide her through delivery.

My eyes widened in shock when he said that. The band slips from my fingers as he tells me about how small the baby is and what Leila ended up naming her. My lip trembles when he recounts the events of that night, and I can't help but feel upset that he went into the delivery room.

When Christian sees my expression, he stops talking and frowns at me in concern.

"What's wrong?" he tries to cup my face, but I move away from him. I don't know why, but I am suddenly angry and hurt. For some reason, I start to cry.

"Why would you do that?" I whimper as tears run down my cheeks.

"Do what?" he says confused.

"Be in the delivery room with her. Why?" I wipe my eyes with my shirt.

I really don't know why this is upsetting me so much. I know logically that he only did it because Leila had no one else there with her, but a part of me is crushed that he shared something like that with her.

He looks at me shocked for a second before running his hand through his hair. "Because she had no one there when she was going to deliver. She was scared out of her mind, so I just agreed and was in the room. Why is that upsetting you?" he explains while looking lost.

"Of course, it is upsetting me. I mean, I just found out that my husband was in the delivery room with another woman," I try not to shout at first, but failed miserably at the end.

"What the hell is the big deal? It's not like we are a couple or anything. You're making this into a bigger deal that it needs to be," he says frustrated while he pulls at his hair.

"I am not! It is a big deal. I can't believe you right now," I hiss and stomp out of the room.

Christian runs out of the room behind me while I storm into the kitchen. "Ana! Why the hell are you suddenly acting like this? You act as if I betrayed you. I didn't do anything wrong here! She was scared! What the hell would you have wanted me to do?" he shouts at me while I spin towards him and look at him dumbfounded.

"Geeze, I don't know, maybe stay in the waiting room?" I say sarcastically causing him to grit his teeth.

"She asked me to go in with her. I guess I should be a dick and say, "Oh, no, thanks. I'll just wait right here. Have a good delivery," he says back sarcastically.

"Yes, that is what you should have done. Minus the sarcastic attitude," I yell, and he shakes his head before huffing.

"I can't believe you are pissed off at me for this. I don't know what the big deal is. I didn't do anything wrong. Excuse me for giving a fuck about your friend," he scoffs and walks out of the room.

I whimper again and fall to the floor before starting to cry into my hands. I really don't know why I am this pissed off at him for doing what he did. I know nothing is going on with them, and I know that Christian would never cheat on me or deliberately do something that would hurt me. I just can't shake the way I feel right now, and I do somewhat feel as though he betrayed me, but did he really? Did he purposely go into the room to upset me?

I stop crying and let my hands fall to my thighs and realize, no, he didn't. He was just there for my friend when she had no one else there.

On the other hand, I want him to acknowledge my feelings. I can't help the way I feel, but I do want him to understand where I am coming from. If it were the other way around, and I was giving birth and another man was there with me, friend or not, he would be upset that he was there in the room with me.

I sigh and wipe my eyes on my shirt once more before opening the front door and walking onto the front porch and sitting down on the rocking chair. I sit there for a few hours and watch the various cars drive down the street. I look up a few times towards the stars and wish that this pregnancy thing wasn't this hard.

I see the stars twinkle, and I decide to close my eyes and let myself wish upon that star. I wish that we can have our own miracle and wish that I will be able to get to experience my own birth with Christian by my side. I smile at the vision of me holding our own baby girl when the front door suddenly opens startling me.

Christian steps out onto the porch. He closes the door and stares at me with a painful emotion in his eyes. I stare back at him, trying not to show the heartbreak on my face.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs after a minute of silence.

I sigh and swallow quickly before looking away from him. He walks towards me slowly before getting on his knees beside me.

"Baby look at me," he pleads causing me almost to start crying again.

I take a deep breath and turn towards him with glassy eyes. My heart breaks as his tear-filled grey eyes staring back at me.

"Your right. I shouldn't have gone into the room. I'm sorry if I upset you. That wasn't my intention when I did that," he holds my face for a second before placing his forehead on mine.

"I know. I'm sorry too for yelling at you the way I did. I just want you to acknowledge my feelings. I what that experience for us," I whisper as tears fall from my eyes.

"Baby it will be us. We will experience that. It might take some time, but we will have our baby one way or another whether it's adoption or you give birth. We will have it," he pleads as his own tears fall.

I whimper as he kisses me before he pulls me into his arms and we both cry silently into each other's arms.

Little did we know, there was a shooting star flying brightly across the sky behind us.

* * *

 **AN: Here is the next chapter!**

 **I know there were many different opinions about the last chapter and I want to explain really quick about what went into the making of this chapter since I wanted to try to make it as realistic as I can.**

 ***Note that this is purely to help me sort out how I needed the chapter to go, and I'm not trying to change your opinions on what you thought about Chapter 18 when it came to Christian and the birth. ***

 **I wanted a male's opinion on the scenario, so I enlisted help from my husband to see if he thought Christian did the right thing by going into the delivery room and what he would do if we're in that position.**

 **Without reading the chapter individually first, just explained it without going into detail, his response:**

" _ **If it were a good friend of yours and if she had one else, I would probably do the same thing. Plus, I'm not an asshole".**_ **Hence, Christian's response to Ana.**

 **On the other hand, he gave me some good advice on Ana's reaction, since I was a little stuck on how I wanted her to respond. Basically, I needed to show realistic emotion to the situation. Even though Ana trusts her husband, there is still part of her that is upset that he shared that with her.**

 **To show Christian's reaction to Ana's, his perspective:**

" _ **Men can be pretty dense to things on an emotional level."**_ **Christian didn't understand the big deal of being in the delivery room.**

 **After a good discussion, I went ahead and started the chapter, and I hope I did okay with showing Ana's feelings towards the situation. Christian was able to see that he hurt his wife, not intentionally, but still hurt her nonetheless. I wanted to show that he did understand her side in the end and that he was upset that he upset her.**

 **I wanted to credit him on this chapter since he did help me tremendously on what Ana's perspective should entail. Thanks, babe. :)**

 **Anyway, someone commented, I can't remember if it was a guest reviewer, but asked if this was going to be all about Leila and her drama because it seemed to be all about her and not Ana and Christian?**

 **No, the story is about Ana and Christian, yes, there will be chapters about other characters, but this will be about C &A. There will be a few more later chapters about Jenna, John, and Leila, but no more than that. **

**Also, I am sorry about the mess up on the timeline of when Leila gave birth. She would have had her baby (3 months or so) already since the timeline the past few chapters made her in the 12-month mark instead of the 9-month mark. I know that many do not care for Leila and the timeline of her baby anyway, so hopefully, it doesn't bother you too much. *Still facepalming myself for that massive inconsistency in the story* Didn't pay attention when I planned the chapter. I will try to read my earlier chapters next time when planning out future chapters.**

 **Thank you all for reading and reviewing. I am still debating on if I want to do one more chapter before a time jump or just do the time jump next chapter?**

 **Let me know in the reviews since I want to get them closer to making that wish they made, come true. :)**

 **Thank you all for reading. See you next time. Pinterest is updated.**


	20. Chapter 20

_***Chapter contains sensitive subjects***_

* * *

 _ **Three years later**_

 _ **Ana**_

"What time did you want us to be there tomorrow?" my mother asks through the phone.

"Dinner time is at three. You don't need to bring anything," I say while putting the phone on my shoulder so that I can take off my running shoes.

"Okay. Are Ella and Thomas going to make it as well?"

"Yes, they are. It's only going to be the six of us," I sigh and head towards the bathroom.

"Elliot didn't want to come?" she says curiously.

"Aleida's parents are in town, and he is staying there for dinner," I shake my head as I open the door and walk into the bathroom.

"Alright. Well, I love you sweetie, and we will see you tomorrow," she murmurs before hanging up after I confirm the time.

I sigh and place my cell phone on the sink and take off my running gear and head towards the shower.

It's Thanksgiving tomorrow and Christian, and I are making dinner at our house this year.

These last three years have been an emotional roller-coaster, to say the least.

After the colossal fight Christian and I had over Leila and her delivery, we both went inside and spent the remainder of the night talking about what happened. He apologized again and told me about what happened with Mia's friend. Of course, I was pissed, and Christian had to physically hold me back since I was seconds away from marching over to that bitch's house and ripping her face off. She basically violated him!

After calming me down, we both decided to just go over to Grace and Carrick's house and tell them what happened. They were absolutely appalled when we told them that morning, and so was Mia.

Christian asked Mia if she told her friend about our trouble conceiving and her look of confusion reassured us that she didn't know what we were talking about. I knew Grace wouldn't say anything to her, but we wanted to know how her friend found out about our personal life. Mia was devastated and embarrassed about what her friend did, and apologized profusely for what happened, which wasn't necessary since it wasn't her fault. Let's just say that Mia dropped her as a friend immediately and hasn't spoken to her since.

Christian ended up calling the girls parents and demanded to know how she found out about our personal business and her parents were upset about their daughters' actions. Of course, Christian agreed not to press charges, and all we wanted to know is how she found out. Lillian said that she overheard some blonde chick talking about it with an older lady in a boutique a few weeks earlier. She didn't know the women's name just what she looked like, and it was confirmed that that person was Kate.

It turns out that Kate was in the store with her mother discussing our business with her mother and said my name louder than she meant to, and that's how Lillian overheard the conversation. Of course, I was mad at first, but Kate reassured me that she wasn't saying anything wrong or hurtful, and she was sorry that she even discussed our personal business with her mother in the first place.

After a few months of not talking as much as we used to, we reconnected and now we are closer than we were at the beginning of our friendship. Kate ended up getting pregnant a year ago and is living with her boyfriend of two years, Jason, who is the new mechanic that replaced Christian during the Saturday shifts. Jason is an ex-marine and has a daughter named Sophie from a previous marriage.

I really like Jason, and he has been good to Kate, and I am glad that she is happy. Their daughter, Ava is such a cute, smart little girl, who just started walking a few weeks ago. Since Christian is good friends with Jason, we often babysit Ava for them once a month.

Elliot and Aleida ended up having twin boys, Dylan and Daniel who are rambunctious three-year old's who keep them on their toes most of the time. Elliot and Aleida got married six months after they had the boys and are currently expecting their third child, which as of last week, they found out they are having a little girl.

As for Christian and I?

Well, we are still baby less and stopped trying about six months ago. A few months after the whole Leila thing, we found out we were finally pregnant, but sadly it didn't last long. We ended up having a chemical pregnancy shortly after confirming the pregnancy with a blood test.

To say we were heartbroken would be a vast understatement. We were both devastated to have finally gotten pregnant, and then having lost our baby a few days later. It was hard on the both of us, and when Elliot and Aleida had their boys, it was even more devastating because they were celebrating the birth of their children, where we were grieving the loss of our own.

Sadly, Christian and I had two more miscarriages after that, and after a long conversation, we decided not to try anymore. We were just too emotionally drained and heartbroken that we didn't want to get pregnant and go through any more pain of losing another baby.

Six months later, we are still trying to make peace on how having a baby might not be in the cards for us. We have briefly talked about adoption, and I would love to be able to adopt a child who needs a safe and loving home. Christian and I are going to look further into adoption after the holidays and hopefully talk with an adoption agency after the new year.

After checking the water temperature in the shower, I step in and let the hot water run down my body as I take a deep breath and begin to wash my hair. Stuck in my own little world, I don't notice the shower curtain being pulled back as I lather up my body. I jump slightly when two strong arms wrap around my waist from behind.

"I was calling for you," Christian whispers into my ear causing goosebumps to appear on my arms.

"Sorry," I smile as he rains kisses down my neck.

Christian has been very affectionate towards me here lately. Not that he wasn't before, but ever since our separation last year, he has been very loving and opened about his feelings.

Christian and I had separated for about two months last year. We just weren't communicating as we should have, and after our miscarriage, we both just shut down emotionally. We both stopped talking to each other, and when we did talk, we would argue and say hurtful things to each other. I didn't want to continue living that way, and after another heated fight, I said that I wanted to take a break and he agreed.

Christian packed some of his stuff and moved to his parent's house. We didn't talk much during our separation, and after a while of little to no contact, I contemplated getting a divorce. I didn't want to end our marriage, but it hurt that we didn't talk to each other and I didn't know if he even cared to stay in the marriage.

After my tearful confession with my mother about possibly ending my marriage, my father stormed out of the house and drove over to Ella and Thomas's house and demanded to see Christian. Ray practically punched Christian in the face and said that if he didn't get his head out of his ass and talk to me, then I was going to draw up divorce papers.

I was furious with my dad for doing that because it wasn't all Christian's fault that we weren't talking. I wasn't communicating my feelings to him, and we were both being ridiculous about the situation. We still loved each other very much, and deep down, I didn't want to end my marriage, and either did Christian.

After that, Christian drove over to the house, and practically got down on his knees on the front porch and pleaded with me not to give up on him. He said that he was acting like an asshole and that he didn't want to give up on us. I ran into his arms, both crying and apologizing repeatedly, and we both spend the remainder of the weekend in bed reconnecting and communicating like she should have done from the start.

We saw a marriage counselor a few weeks later, and as of this day, we still see our therapist once a month. It has helped our marriage tremendously, and we are proud to say that our relationship is stronger than it was before.

Christian spins me around to face him and smashes his lips to mine. I moan into his mouth as he picks me up and shoves me up against the wall. I suddenly giggle when he nuzzles his face against my neck. He chuckles before grabbing his cock and pumps it a few times before thrusting inside of me.

* * *

Today is Thanksgiving, and my parents arrived ten minutes ago. Mom and I are finishing up the sides when the doorbell rings.

"I'll get that," My dad jumps up from the couch where he is sitting with Christian, watching Sports Center.

"Well, hello there. Happy Thanksgiving," Ella screeches as she walks through the door, carrying a few grocery bags.

Thomas and my dad shake hands as Christian gets up from the sofa to greet his father.

"Happy Thanksgiving," my mom beams at Ella before hugging her.

"You didn't need to bring anything," I lightly scold Ella as I hug her.

"I know, but I wanted to bring some wine at least," she shrugs before setting the bags on the kitchen island.

"How lovely. Thank you," Mom smiles as she takes out the bottles of wine and inspects them.

"No problem. What can I help with?" Ella looks around the kitchen.

"Were done actually. Here," I hand her the green beans. She smiles as she grabs them and starts helping us set the table.

After all the food is placed on the table, the men sit down, and we all take turns going around the table and saying why we are thankful. Christian gets up and starts carving the turkey while we cheer him on. He smiles shyly at me when he gives me the first piece of turkey. I kiss him lightly on the lips after he is done serving everyone else, and we start to eat while we make polite conversation.

Ten minutes later, there is a lull in the conversation when Thomas's phone starts to ring. He apologizes before getting up and answering the phone. Everyone stops eating when they hear Thomas loudly groan as he pulls the phone away from his ear.

"Elliot, what was that?" he frowns as he listens.

Ella perks up when she hears Elliot's name and smiles when she hears her grandchildren's laughter coming from the other end of the phone. I finish my mash potatoes and start to work on my cranberry sauce when Thomas suddenly laughs. I look up at him and see that he is smiling and nodding.

"Thanks for that Elliot. You all have a good time, and well see you soon. Love you too, bye," he chuckles before he hangs up.

"Sorry, that was Elliot. He said Happy Thanksgiving, and he's sorry that he couldn't be here," Thomas says before putting his phone in his pocket and sits down.

"Was that Daniel I heard in the background?" Ella chuckles as she takes a sip of wine.

"Yes. He wanted to talk to me, but Dylan decided he wanted to talk to me first, so they got into a little brotherly fight," Thomas laughs as Ella giggles and rolls her eyes.

"They sure have their hands full, don't they?" Ella shakes her head while she smiles.

"Yes, they do," Thomas smirks before taking his wife's hand and kissing the back of it.

Christian smiles weakly at his parents as I do the same. Mom and dad look at us in concern before they continue eating. It's suddenly quiet as we all finish eating. I put my napkin on the plate and take a sip of wine as mom does the same.

I don't know what it is, but the atmosphere is suddenly awkward and uncomfortable while we all sit there in silence, sipping our drinks. Christian picks up his beer and takes a long sip before going back to his turkey.

"It's very quiet," mom suddenly says as she looks around the house.

"So, ah, how is your friend, Leila doing, Ana?" Dad scratches his head gawkily trying to start up a conversation to break the awkward silence.

"She's good. She's thinking about moving back to Seattle to be closer to her mother. It's hard on her since she doesn't get to see Annabelle that often," I sigh as I internally thank my dad for breaking the silence.

Leila and I are still friends, but after the whole thing about her delivery, we are not as close as we were before. After our fight, Leila tried to call me when she hasn't heard from me in a while. She was on maternity leave and wanted to see if I was able to go out to lunch and catch up. I ended up avoiding her for a while since I was still hurt by the situation.

After a few weeks, she showed up at the house and wanted to see why I was avoiding her. I explained to her about how hurt I was that Christian was in the room with her, and she immediately understood and apologized for upsetting me. She felt awful that she was the reason that Christian and I were even fighting in the first place. I told her that I just needed some time to work out my feelings and that I will call her sometime soon.

A month later, she came back to work, and we started to talk again slowly, and now, we talk daily at school and every now and then out of school.

Ray nods in understanding causing mom to roll her eyes. "Well good for her," she says sarcastically.

"Carla," dad says in warning.

"I don't like that girl, Ray. Jenna is still heartbroken about her divorce," mom scowls.

"That's not her fault. It's that scumbag's fault. He is the one who couldn't move on from her. He is the one who left her, not the other way around," Ray hisses.

I sigh and think about my cousin Jenna. Her marriage didn't last for more than six months. John confessed on their honeymoon about Leila and the baby, and he was shocked when he learned that she knew all along. He even got pissed at her that she didn't say anything to him. He had the nerve to get even more pissed that she went through with the ceremony. I remember being murderous at that because he told her that if she had said something to him, he wouldn't have married her.

After that, I felt guilty that I didn't do more to convince her that she shouldn't have married him. My mom got mad at me for a bit because I never said anything to her, and that she could have tried to convince her niece to not go through with the wedding.

Since Jenna really did love him and wanted to work it out, she suggested marriage counseling and John reluctantly agreed. After a few months, he said he wanted a divorce because he couldn't get over Leila and that he felt guilty about leading Jenna on the whole time.

Leila, of course, felt sympathy over the situation and was willing to talk to Jenna. She wanted to make it clear that she didn't want anything to do with John and that she hated that she was going through that because of her. Leila didn't do anything wrong; it was all John and his selfish actions that caused the drama between them. Jenna appreciated the thought but didn't want to talk with Leila, so she just ended up getting a divorce lawyer.

Jenna is still broken, and we all are trying to help her move on, and one would say that they would be over it by now, but for Jenna, that is not the case. She really did love him, and it will probably take a while to get over what she went through.

Mom mumbles under her breath before grabbing her wine and taking a large gulp. Christian takes my hand under the table and squeezes it to let me know that he is here.

I give him a weak smile and squeeze his hand back. Thomas breaks the tense silence with a lame joke causing us all to laugh. From then on, the conversation flows smoothly, and everyone ends up having a good time.

* * *

 _ **Christmas Day**_

"Babe are you ready?" Christian yells from the living room.

"One second!" I roll my eyes as I apply the last of my lip balm.

It's Christmas day, and we are getting ready to go over to Christian's parent's house to open presents. Elliot and Aleida are bringing the boys over so they can open their gifts that they had bought them. Christian and I decided not to open ours and that we will wait until we go over there to open them.

I had got Christian some new cologne, an expensive bottle of whiskey, and a brand-new watch since his old one broke a few months ago.

I put down my lip balm and check myself one last time in the mirror. I am wearing a pair of skinny jeans, a long-sleeved white sweater, a red scarf and black flats. I smooth out my wavy hair and pick up Christian's presents before heading out of the room.

When I walk into the living room, Christian is picking up his wallet and keys before turning towards me.

"You look beautiful, babe," he smiles as he walks towards me.

"You look handsome as ever," I smirk as he gives me a peck on the lips.

Christian is wearing a simple pair of blue jeans, white converse, and a black long-sleeved shirt. He looks and smells fantastic as usual.

"Let's go," he smiles before picking up my presents.

"What did you get me?" I smile as I jump up and down in excitement.

"You just have to wait, women," he smirks causing me to pout. _I hate waiting!_

* * *

"Merry Christmas!" Ella cheers as she answers the door.

I laugh, and Christian rolls his eyes as he walks through the door. I greet Ella before giving her a big hug.

"Merry Christmas. How is everyone?" I ask as I walk into the house with some of the presents.

"Were great! So glad you two are here," she smiles as she takes the presents from my hands and leads me into the living room where Elliot and his family are here already.

"Buttercup!" he beams at me when he spots me near the sofa.

I wave at him while he gets up from the floor and picks up one of the boys. Since they are identical twins, I can never tell them apart, and they usually dress the boys differently, but today they are matching.

I almost melt when I see their outfits they are wearing which are a pair of blue jeans, white shirt, and a red reindeer sweater with matching reindeer hats. They look adorable.

Elliot picks up both boys causing them to giggle and wave at me. "Hi, there," I smile as they walk over to me.

"Hi, aunt, Ana!" they both say causing me to giggle. Christian mumbles, _I guess I'm chopped liver_ when they completely ignore their uncle when he tries to get their attention.

I shrug innocently at Christian before tickling their tummies causing them to laugh and squirm in their fathers' arms. He smirks at them before putting them down, and they both run off towards the huge Christmas tree.

"How are you, buttercup?" Elliot smiles down at me before giving me a bear hug.

"I'm fine," I hug him back and punch him in the arm when he playfully messes up my hair. _Ugh,_ _I spent forever trying to get my hair the way I wanted._

"Good to see you. It feels like forever since we all hung out together," he pouts.

"I know, but you're a father now, Elliot. I understand," I smile and pat his arm.

He sighs dramatically, and I smirk before he puts his arm around my shoulder and kisses my hair. Aleida smiles at us while trying to stand up from the couch. Christian see's her struggling and gets to her before Elliot can. She smiles up at him when he offers her his hands.

Christian greets Aleida and asks how she is doing before kissing her cheek. We stand there and get caught up with each other before Ella announces that it's time to eat breakfast.

We all head into the dining room where Ella has a spread of pancakes, eggs, waffles, hash browns, toast, bacon, sausage, juice, milk and a side of fruit salad for Aleida.

Christian pulls out my chair before sitting down beside me. He kisses my hair before making my plate of pancakes, eggs and a side of toast. I fill my glass with some orange juice and moan in delight when it hits my tongue. Christian smirks and squeezes my thigh before making his own plate.

I'm so hungry this morning, I practically scarf down my breakfast and fill my plate once more with eggs and bacon. Christian watches me with a weird expression on his face before going back to his food. I shrug my shoulders and continue to eat my eggs. I vaguely see Ella watching me with hope in her eyes which for a minute confuses me. I don't have time to think more about it, because one of the boys distracts all of us when they start throwing food at each other.

* * *

"This one is for you Ana," Thomas hands me a present.

We had eaten breakfast, and we are now sat in the living room where the kids finished ripping open their presents. Christian and I had bought them both two sets of clothing for spring, some trucks, Legos, and each a drum playset. Aleida and Elliot groaned in misery when they both saw the drums, which was Christian's idea, not mine.

" _Really bro?" Elliot groaned as Christian opened the drum set for the boys._

" _What?" Christian said with a goofy smile on his face while he banged the drumstick on the drum causing me and his parents to burst out laughing._

"Thank you," I beamed at Christian since this present is from him.

He smiled while I ripped open the wrapping paper, which by the way was horribly wrapped. _God bless him._

I gasp when I open the little box to find a beautiful diamond bracelet. "Thank you, honey," I beam at him before he takes the bracelet from me and fastens it onto my wrist.

"Your most welcome," he whispers as he kisses my cheek.

I want more from him, so I shake my head before grabbing his cheeks and smashing my lips to his causing him to still in shock for a second before kissing me back. He opens his mouth, and I take the opportunity to practically shove my tongue down his throat and run my hand through his hair. He moans loudly when I pull his hair and kiss him widely. I don't know what possessed me, but in two seconds I have him on the floor, almost dry humping him in the living room.

I'm so embarrassed when one of the boys starts giggling and saying, "Kiss, kiss, Aunt, Ana!"

I jump up, and we are both panting on the floor. I hide my face in my hair since my face is bright red in embarrassment. Christian is staring at me like I have lost my mind as I look at him apologetically.

"Ah, do ya'll need a minute?" Thomas says awkwardly as he scratches the back of his head.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me," I murmur as I hide my face into my hands for a second. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ Christian smelled and tasted so good; I couldn't control myself. That's been happening a lot here lately. I don't know what it is, but I have wanted to jump Christian's bones twenty-four seven it seems. I literally can't get enough of him.

Everyone tries not to laugh at my embarrassment, and Christian gets up from the floor trying not to smirk at me.

"You have four more, baby, but let's try to keep the kissing to a minimum," he smirks and hands me another present.

I look at him shyly before opening the other presents. He got me a new makeup set, a pair of fluffy slippers, and a gift card to the spa that I have wanted to go for ages, but don't really have time to since work is hectic.

The last present was a weekend trip to Seattle. I smile when I remember our honeymoon and how much fun we had. I peck him on the cheek this time, and he tells me that we are going to go for new year's, which I can't wait.

After everyone has opened their presents, we sit there and go through our gifts and conversate for a while. The boys are building random things with their Legos, while Aleida is leaning against Elliot's chest as they watch their boys play with their new toys. Thomas and Ella are laughing and joking with each other in the corner of the room while Christian and I sit side by side on the couch watching the kids play.

Watching the kids play suddenly make me sad and once more brings back the fact that we still don't have our own baby. I sigh miserably and look down and try not to cry. Christian notices my change in mood, causing him to squeeze my hand before putting his arm around my shoulders.

"I love you," he whispers into my ear.

I crack a small smile and look up at him before kissing his lips softly. "I love you too."

"Do you still want to look into the adoption agency?" he asks quietly while softly rubbing my upper arm with his thumb.

I bite my lip and think for a second before sighing and staring up at Christian.

I really don't think we have another option. I don't want to do IVF again, and I especially do not want to go through another loss, so this would be the best option for us at the moment.

He smiles at me and runs his nose down mine. I smile and nod my head causing him to beam down at me before kissing my lips tenderly. We both smile against each other's mouths as we imagine that maybe this time next year, we will finally have our own little family.

* * *

 **AN: Happy Wednesday!**

 **Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter, I appreciate all your input.**

 **Next chapter will be the one we all have been waiting for. ;)**

 **Thank you for following and reviewing. See you all soon. Pinterest has been updated.**


	21. Chapter 21

_**Ana**_

I'm pacing in our hotel room, waiting for Christian to get back from the hotel gym. It's been almost a week since Christmas, and we are currently in Seattle for New Years. We arrived yesterday afternoon, and we have plans to go out today and explore more of Seattle.

Christian and I came here for our honeymoon, but we didn't make it out of our hotel room that much while we were here. We both couldn't get enough of each other, and this time it was no different.

Today, we are planning to visit the space needle, since we didn't get to visit the landmark on our honeymoon. Then tonight, since it's New Year's Eve, we are planning on going down to the hotel bar and celebrate the night with the other guests.

We decided to stay downtown at the Hilton hotel, and Christian booked us a room with a queen size bed. The place isn't much, but we didn't care too much since we wanted to spend more time to visit the sites this time than staying in the room all day.

I want to see the sights, but right now, I am more than happy to stay in the room and lay in bed with Christian all night.

My sex drive is higher than it was last week and it's starting to irritate me. I love it don't get me wrong, but I can see that Christian is getting exhausted from all the sex and it's making me feel guilty. I don't know what the hell is wrong with me, but I can't seem to get enough of my husband.

I woke up this morning immensely turned on and the previous night of having sex twice only satisfied me for so long. After getting up to go to the bathroom, I came back to bed and slowly crawled up Christian's body, causing him to rouse from sleep. Seeing me on top of him, he startled and asked what I was doing.

" _I want you," I groaned._

 _His eyes widen before giving me a nervous smile as I licked my lips and sat up. I whipped off my night t-shirt causing my breasts to bounce, and he let out a soft moan before wiping his hands down his thighs._

 _He started slowly panting as I leaned down and started kissing the waistband of his tight black boxer briefs. He froze as I began kissing his hardening cock through his underwear. He threw his head back when I got to his balls and massaged them with my tongue. His hands were shaking when he placed them in my hair and gripped the strands._

 _I trailed open mouth kisses up his cock, and when I started to lick the sensitive part of the head of his cock, he hissed and suddenly sat up startling me._

" _I-I want to go to the gym," he stammered and shot out of bed._

 _I whined and got up after him and squirmed uncomfortably since my lace underwear was soaked through with my arousal._

" _Christian," I whined when he started to get dressed in his workout gear._

" _I will be back soon," he hurriedly put on his shoes before giving me a quick kiss and practically ran out the door._

 _I pouted and stomped my foot like a toddler and threw myself on the bed._

 _He is so going to get it when he gets back!_

Now, it's been two hours since he left, and I am going crazy!

I know he is tired, and I feel so damn selfish, but I can't help it. I want him so bad, and I'm hoping that with this outfit I have on with enticing him to have sex.

I stop pacing and look down at the lingerie that I bought last week. It's a black, lace bodysuit that I bought online especially for this trip. I rarely wear lingerie, but I wanted to treat my husband for the new year, and I hope he likes it.

While he was gone, I curled my hair and put on some light makeup before spraying my wrists with a little perfume. I walk over to the mirror that is above the dresser and look at myself once more before impatiently looking at my phone for the time.

Two and a half hours he has been gone now.

Before I can huff in frustration, a beep from the door signals Christian inserting his key in the door. I practically run to the center of the room and stupidly stand there and try to pose. He reluctantly walks through the door and freezes when he see's me.

His mouth drops open in shock, and instead of smirking at him, I narrow my eyes because apparently, he hasn't been working out since he is not even sweating from his workout.

He looks at me a little guilty before walking inside and softly closing the door. He scratches the back of his neck nervously while I put my hands on my hips and glare at him. _He didn't even work out!_

"You see, there was a game on downstairs, and I thought I would just glance at it really quick. I guess time got away from me," he shrugs pathetically while pointing at the door.

I continue to glare at him while he looks everywhere but at me. I close my eyes and try not to yell at him. I know this is my fault that he wanted to get away from me, but I suddenly feel angry that he left me hanging so he can watch a stupid game!

I open my eyes, and he gives me a stupid grin before gently putting his room key on the dresser. I growl and suddenly lunge for him catching him by surprise. I jump in his arms and wrap my legs around him and attack his mouth.

He sighs as I ravage his mouth with my tongue. When I run kisses down his throat he pants as he squeezes my behind.

"Baby, I need to take a shower," he pats my butt before trying to get me out of his arms.

"No, you don't. You didn't even work out," I snap, and he gives me a look of guilt.

"Honey. Love of my life," he says sweetly, batting his eyelashes at me.

I shake my head and cup his cock through his workout shorts causing him to close his eyes and moan loudly before hissing when I gently squeeze him.

"I want you in my mouth," I pant and jump back out of his arms and get down on my knees in front of him.

He pants as he puts his hands on my head. I quickly push down his shorts, and his hardening cock appears causing my mouth to water. He quickly guides my head towards his length, and I open my mouth wide and wrap my lips around his thick head.

"Fuck," he shouts and hisses when I lick around the head of his cock.

"Yes, yes, yes," he shouts when I deep throat him. He grabs my hair and moans like crazy when I squeeze him with the back of my throat.

My arousal drips down my thighs as I continue to pleasure him with my mouth. He thrusts in my mouth a few seconds before I suddenly take him out of my mouth. He gasps and then whines when I sit back on my knees and look up at him guilty.

I know I have no reason to be mad at him because it's my fault that he wanted to get away from me in the first place.

I pout at him but then moan when he grabs his almost purple cock and fists it a few times and stares at me with dark eyes.

He lunges for me, and I yelp when he picks me up and throws me on my front. He grabs my hips as he stands behind me before quickly thrusting inside of me causing me to cry out in ecstasy. He slaps my ass and shouts, "Raw cock be damn; I am fucking you!"

He thrusts harder and harder into me, and within no time, I am shouting his name and closing my eyes as my orgasm rips through me.

I fall on the bed, finally sated as he continues to pound into me. "I want to come in your mouth," he grunts.

I groan as he continues his thrusts before suddenly yelling out, "Now!"

He pushes away from me, and I quickly turn around and thrust my tongue out as he vigorously fists his cock and shouts when his semen coats my tongue. He grabs my hair and moans in ecstasy when he watches me put his head into my mouth and swallow and suck the rest of his orgasm into my mouth.

He hisses when he's finished, and I quickly take out his softened cock from my mouth and softly kiss his shaft. He sighs and runs his hand through my hair gently. He groans as he throws himself on the bed and closes his eyes in exhaustion.

The guilt hits me again as I lay on his chest.

"You should have told me you were tired and didn't want sex," I whisper as I run my hand down his chest.

"It's not that I don't want sex. I do, it's just that you have been insatiable here lately, and I wanted to please you. I hate saying no to you," he sighs and puts his arm around me.

"You can always say no. I don't want you to think that you need to have sex with me all the time. I'm sorry that I have been selfish lately. You're just so irresistible," I pout, and he laughs.

"Ditto baby," he smirks as he looks down at me.

We lay there for a while in silence, enjoying laying in each other's arms. I open my eyes and pout once more when I realize something.

"You didn't even comment on my outfit," I said sullenly, and he laughs once more.

" _Oh, baby."_

* * *

Christian and I have had the perfect day. We finally got to see the Space Needle, which was absolutely amazing. We both wanted to try the Sky City Restaurant while we were in Seattle, but it was way too expensive for our budget.

After a light lunch at a small Italian restaurant, we walked hand in hand down the street to enjoy Seattle Winter Fest. I shivered and cuddled close to Christian as we sat and watched a live comedy performance.

For a second, I start to get a little nauseous causing me to frown. I take a deep breath and touch my stomach. I felt a little off lately and bloated these last few days. I hope I am not coming down with something because that is the last thing I want to deal with right now.

Christian wrapped his arm around me and kissed my hair. I relax against him and breathe a sigh of relief when the nausea passes. I smile, and suddenly we both laugh at the comedian on the small stage.

After enjoying the performance, we decided to leave and get some hot chocolate before doing a little shopping in Downtown. We got a few things in Nordstrom before walking with our bags towards the next strip of stores. Getting a few things for our parents, and the twins from a local toy store, we head back towards the hotel.

* * *

It's around nine in the evening when we start to get ready for tonight. I am starting to get tired, and part of me wants to stay in and go to sleep, but the other part wants to go out and celebrate New Year's with Christian.

After a yawn, I get up from the bed after Christian and walk towards the shower. We both shower together before getting dressed. Since we are going to stay indoors, I decided to dress in a black blouse, a black sequined skirt, black pantyhose, black heels and a black blazer. I put my hair in a high bun and put on some light makeup.

Christian is dressed in gray skinny jeans, a dark blue long-sleeved shirt, and black boots. He combs his hair back from his eyes before shaving and putting on some aftershave. My lip is caught between my teeth when I get a good look at him. He smirks when he sees me in the mirror and shakes his head.

 _Leave the poor man alone, Ana!_

After pouting and smiling up at him, I leave the bathroom before heading into the room to pick up the clutch that I picked out tonight and make sure that I have everything.

Christian finishes getting ready and walk back into the room and pick up his wallet, phone, and the room key. He takes my hand after confirming to him that I am ready, and we both walk out of the room towards the elevators.

* * *

We are in the crowded bar downstairs of the hotel. We have been here for a few hours now, and it's almost time for the countdown to midnight.

Christian and I are seated at the bar, watching the tv where they are viewing the New Year's party live streaming at Times Square in New York City. Christian is watching the tv while drinking his beer and munching on a plate of wings. I take a sip of my sparkling water and nibble on a celery stick while looking around the bar.

I watch the hostess walking around handing out hats and noisemakers. She gets to the bar and Christian accepts two caps that read _**2018**_ on them, and places them down on the table.

"Twenty minutes to the New Year!" the bartender shouts causing everyone to yell and clap.

"I'm glad we came, baby," Christian smiles as he takes my hand.

"Me too. Here is to the New Year," I smile as I raise my glass.

He picks up his beer and taps it with my glass before we take a sip. I sigh and take a deep breath when I start to get nauseous again.

"Are you okay? You feel sick again?" Christian says in concern.

"Yeah," I groan before taking another sip of water.

"We should go if you're not feeling well," Christian gets up and comes to stand next to me.

"No. I want to celebrate the new year with you," I sigh and rub my face after I put the glass down on the table.

"Babe, you feel sick. We can go lay down upstairs and watch the ball drop up there," he rubs my back.

I shake my head and pout and lean on him as he wraps his arm around my shoulder. I scrunch up my nose when I get a whiff of his aftershave making the nausea worse.

"I can't take your smell, Christian," I groan as I push him away from me.

I take another deep breath and pray the nausea disappears soon. I hate feeling like this. The last time I felt like this was when…

I freeze and suddenly realize where my thoughts lead. The last time I was this nauseous is when I found out I was pregnant.

My mouth drops open, and I stare up at Christian in shock. He looks confused for a second, but then his face turns to surprise when he realizes why I pushed him away. His face pales, and his eyes slowly go to my stomach.

I start to panic when I realize that I possibly could be pregnant _. No. It can't be. Could it?_

"It all makes sense now. The nausea, the high sex drive, the heightened sense of smell," he whispers while staring up at me with tears in his eyes.

My eyes widen, and my hands suddenly go to my stomach. My lip quivers and I look at Christian, and he is staring at me with happiness. A single tear rolls down his cheek as he smiles at me. My breath hitches when he grabs my face with his hands and puts his forehead against mine.

"Christian," I stammer while grabbing both his wrists as tears leak from my eyes.

He laughs and cries at once before kissing me causing me to do the same. I can't believe that we could be pregnant. All the years we have been waiting for this baby, and right at this moment, it seems like it might be finally coming true.

"Here we go!" someone yelled behind us.

As the crowd yells the countdown to midnight in the background, Christian picks me up from the chair and holds me in his arms before the clock strikes midnight.

 _5…4…3…2…1…_

 _HAPPY NEW YEAR!_

We don't pay attention to all the cheers or burst of confetti that pours on our heads. We are focused on each other. Kissing and crying tears of joy and celebrating the fact that I could be finally carrying our rainbow baby.

* * *

Christian and I burst through the convenience store with my hand securely in his. We both run towards the aisle where they keep the pregnancy tests. Tears are still pouring down our faces as we browse the tests. Christian grabs the first test he sees _; Clearblue Digital_ and drags me to the register.

The attendant is startled when Christian throws the test on the counter and with shaking hands grabs his credit card from his wallet and hands it to the cashier. I stand beside him with one hand over my mouth while the endless tears pour down my cheeks.

The cashier looks at both of us in pity for a second but smiles warmly at us when Christian turns around and grabs my face and laughs against my lips once more.

"Good luck," the man politely smiles while giving the card back to Christian.

"Th-anks," Christian stutters while trying to put his card back with shaky hands.

Christian grabs my hand, and the test and we both run out of the store towards the hotel.

When the finally get into our room, we head straight towards the bathroom. Christian quickly unwraps the package and rips open the box and hands me the test while his hands continue to shake violently. I sniffle before trying to wipe my nose.

After going to the bathroom, I carefully, well try anyway with my shaking hands, put the test on the counter and Christian sets the timer on his phone for three minutes.

I slowly sink down the wall and sit on the floor while Christian paces the bathroom. Fresh tears run down my face as we wait for the timer to go off. Christian is mumbling, _please please_ to himself and stops when he sees me on the floor.

He lunges for me and sits down next to me, reaches over and puts me in his lap. He rocks me back and forth while we wait.

When the timer goes off we both freeze and stare at each other in trepidation. Dried tears are on his cheeks, but as he slowly grabs the test and brings it down to our line of sight without taking his glassy eyes off mine, he starts crying again.

"Are you ready?" he whispers.

I nod, not trusting my voice right now. He tries to take a deep breath, and after a few seconds, he turns the test in his hands and both our eyes zone in on the test strip.

 _Pregnant_

My hands fly to my mouth as I burst out crying causing Christian to whimper as he crushes me to his chest. He starts to shake in my arms as I bury my head in his chest and continue to cry.

"Oh, my, God. We're going to have a baby," he stammers before he burst out in tears causing me to cry harder.

 _We're finally pregnant._

* * *

 _ **Three days later**_

"Okay, Ana. Life up your shirt for me," Doctor Gordon said as he squirted warm gel onto my stomach.

It's been three long, nerve-wracking days since we found out we were pregnant. After New Year's, we decided to drive back home early, so we can see the doctor to confirm the pregnancy.

The office didn't open until Wednesday, so we had to wait a few days to make an appointment. Thankfully, the doctor had an available spot early in the morning the day they opened after the holidays. I don't know how far along I am, so the doctor agreed to go ahead and do an ultrasound to check.

"Okay, let's see where we are," the doctor said as he stared at the screen.

Christian held my hand in a tight grip as he nervously squinted at the screen. He was scared to death, and frankly, so was I.

This isn't the first time we saw our baby for the first time. Our second pregnancy, we had an early ultrasound to hear the heartbeat for the first time, and it turns out that the doctor couldn't find the baby's heartbeat at our eight-week appointment.

We were devastated, and we both couldn't stop crying a while after that. We have been nervous about this appointment, and all we want to hear is the heartbeat this time and to make sure that we have a healthy baby.

"There we are," he exclaims and points to the screen.

We both stop breathing as we look up at the screen and see a flicker. My mouth drops open when I look at the baby's clear profile. I whimper as Christian does the same when he gets a good look at our baby.

"I would say you are farther along than we thought. It looks like your thirteen weeks and three days. Everything looks great! The baby looks nice and healthy. Strong, heartbeat too," he smiles as he turns a nob and the room fills with the most beautiful sound I ever heard.

Christian closes his eyes as tears run down his face as he puts his forehead to mine. I burst out crying as does Christian when we listen to the heartbeat of our baby.

"Oh, Ana. Thank you," he whimpers as he kisses my lips tenderly.

"We're having a baby, Christian. Our baby," I cry harder as the doctor leaves us alone for a moment.

When the door softly closes, I wrap my arms around Christian's neck as we both continue to cry, shake and laugh through our tears.

Four years of trying, three heartbreaking miscarriages, and endless days of thinking we will never have a baby, we are finally getting what we have wanted for so long.

Our own little family.

* * *

 _ **AN: There is no greater feeling than hearing your baby's heartbeat after trying for so long. Christian and Ana are finally having a baby! *Happy tears ***_

 _ **Thank you for all the support and reviews. See you all next time.**_

 _ **Pinterest is updated.**_


	22. Chapter 22

_**Ana-20 weeks pregnant**_

"Christian, I'm home!" I yell when I walk through our front door.

"In the bedroom!" he yells back.

I smile and shut the door and place my purse on the kitchen table.

I am twenty weeks pregnant, and today we are scheduled for a doctor's appointment in an hour. It's three o'clock, and Christian got off work early, so we can ride to the appointment together. Hopefully, we will be able to find out the baby's sex when we have our ultrasound.

Happily, I rub my small pump while walking into our bedroom. I nearly swoon when I see Christian in the middle of our bed reading, surrounded by baby books.I stifle a giggle when I look at him absorbed in the title; _The Expectant Father._ His gray eyes are zooming over the pages with a big smile on his face.

Christian has been overjoyed about this pregnancy. The day we finally heard our baby's heartbeat, he went out and got all the baby books he could find at the local library. Since that day, he has been reading up on pregnancy non-stop.

"This book was good, but I like this one better," he puts the book he was reading down and holds up another one with a smirk.

I roll my eyes when I see the title; _What to Expect When Your Wife is Expanding._

"You and that book," I smirk and put down my purse on our chest of drawers.

"How are you feeling?" Christian abandons the book and hurries over to me.

"I'm fine. No morning sickness," I smile when Christian places his hands on my stomach.

Thankfully, my morning sickness went away a few days after we confirmed the pregnancy. Now, I feel great and well energized. The high sex drive is still going strong, but not as bad as it was before we found out much to Christian's relief.

"Okay, good. You need to take it easy at work," he narrows his eyes at me before getting on his knees and kisses my bump.

"Hey, there little one. It's daddy. We can't wait to see you today," he says to the baby while caressing my stomach.

I smile and run my hand through his hair while he closes his eyes in contentment and rests his cheek on my stomach. Christian has been talking to the baby daily, and his favorite thing to do before we go to sleep is read and sing to the baby. It's adorable, and I just know that Christian is going to be the best father to this baby.

He suddenly jumps up startling me and looks around the room quickly.

"We forgot to do the board today," he curses and hurries over to the chalkboard we have leaning against the wall.

Christian and I decided to do one of those pregnancy collages every week of my pregnancy. After we bought the baby books that day, we went into the craft store and bought a black chalkboard. Now, every week, I wear a different type of outfit and pose beside the chalkboard that reads the week of my pregnancy. We are excited that today we will find out the sex, and we will be able to reveal the baby's gender this way to our entire family.

Since we were at the beginning of the second trimester, we decided to tell our families our exciting news. That weekend, we had a massive cookout at our house, and after dessert, we handed our family a sonogram picture that we had placed in a frame. On top of it were the words; _Baby Grey Coming July 2018!_

Everyone was elated that we were finally going to have a baby. Ella and Carla couldn't stop crying and hugging me, and our fathers also had tears in their eyes when they saw the picture of their newest grandchild. Elliot and Aleida were also thrilled for us, and Aleida immediately made plans with me to go baby shopping when we find out the sex.

"Did you want to wear that or get dressed into something different?" he nods towards my clothes while he puts the chalkboard up against the wall.

"I can keep this on," I shake my head and go stand by the wall.

Christian runs out of the room to get his camera. He comes back in and gets it ready. I smile and cup my bump while turning to my right. He snaps a few pictures before smiling and walking towards me.

I beam down at the picture. Today, I am wearing a plain black camisole, black maternity leggings, a green army jacket, and my white converse. My hair is in its usual high ponytail and light makeup.

"You look beautiful, babe," he kisses my temple while we look through the photos of what we have for our collage so far.

"What do you think the gender is?" I bite my nail nervously.

"I don't know. Boy?" he sighs.

"Will you get upset if I think the baby is a girl?" I twist my fingers together and look at him anxiously.

He stares at me with wide eyes for a second before he gulps. "I won't get upset, no. Of course, I won't get upset if it's not a boy. I'm just nervous. A girl," he looks lost as he runs his hand through his hair.

"Don't worry. It's just a feeling I have, I didn't mean to freak you out," I frown up at him before wrapping my arms around his neck.

He kisses me on the lips and sighs. "I won't be upset at all. I'm not freaked out, just nervous. I will be happy with a boy _or_ a girl. I am just so happy, baby," he smiles and kisses me.

"I am happy too. I can't believe this is really happening. I can't wait until he or she is finally here," My lip trembles. _Stupid hormones!_

Christian buries his head against my neck and squeezes me to him as we stand there holding each other for a few minutes.

"Come on. We should get to the doctor's office," he pulls back and kisses my lips.

* * *

"Anastasia Grey?"

We stand up nervously when a nurse finally calls my name. Hand in hand, we follow the nurse to the ultrasound room. I lay on the bed and pull my shirt up before the nurse places some paper towels under my waistband. After a few minutes getting the machine ready, she squirts the warm gel onto my stomach and presses a few buttons.

"Okay, so you are twenty weeks today. First, we will need to do some measurements to find out the baby's growth and development, and then if you want too, we will be able to find out what you are having," she explains while staring at the screen.

Christian squeezes my hand while she checks the baby's growth. We both smile when we see the baby on the screen. We both giggle and watch in wonder when we look at our baby moving their fingers and opening and closing their mouth. She presses a button, and we hear the heartbeat. I sniffle and smile at the screen with watery eyes.

"Strong heartbeat. Your uterus and the placenta are as they should be at this point in your pregnancy. Would you like to find out the sex?" she looks at us with a smile.

"Yes, please," we both say at once.

Christian has my hand in a vise grip as the nurse moves the prob on my stomach. I take a deep breath and then after an eternity, she freezes the picture and points to the screen. "Okay, well you see here? It looks like you are having a girl," she types _I'm a Girl!_ Beside our baby's head.

I gasp, and start crying and giggling while Christian beams at me and wipes a small tear from his eye before bending down and kissing my lips tenderly.

 _We're having a girl!_

"Congratulations. I am going to print out a few photos for you and then we are done here. If you want to wipe off, we can go into the exam room to wait for the doctor," she smiles as she hands us the pictures of the baby.

I nod and wipe my stomach with the paper towel before Christian helps me sit up. I grab my purse, and we follow the nurse to the exam room.

Thirty minutes later, we are done, and after setting up a new appointment, we leave the office.

When Christian opens the office door, and we step out into the sidewalk, he stops and scoops me up and spins me around. I giggle as he laughs before putting me down and smashes his lips to mine.

"A girl," he says in wonder as he stares at me.

"A girl," I giggle and put my hand on his cheek before kissing him once more.

* * *

Christian and I are at a baby store in town looking at some baby clothes. Since we know the sex of the baby, we wanted to stop at the store to buy a few things before we head home. I am browsing the baby bottles, wondering what kind we should get when Christian walks over to me with an arm full of clothes.

"What do you think of this one?" Christian holds up a white onesie.

I laugh as I see the words that are written on the onesie; _Yes, I know It's 2 a.m. but, I thought we could spend some quality time together._

"Christian, we have to get this one," I giggle as he laughs and passes the onesie to me.

"I agree," he continues to laugh as he kisses my temple.

"Look at these. What do you think?" he shows me the other clothes he has picked out.

He chose a blue and white embroidered dress, a pink onesie that says _; I'm cute, Moms' hot, and dad's lucky,_ Pink bodysuits that have hearts on them, and another set of different colored bodysuits.

"These are so cute. What about this one?" I walk over to the clothes and grab a bodysuit that has _Who needs a prince; I have daddy_ written on the front.

"I love that one," his eyes turn glassy when I show it to him.

"Me too," I place all of the clothes in the cart with a smile.

Christian and I go through a few more aisles, picking out pacifiers, socks, burp clothes, hair bans and a few packs of diapers. We haven't previously bought anything for the baby; we wanted to wait until we found out the gender before we even bought anything. We have also been saving up for the baby, and we have enough to get everything that she needs for the first year.

We browse through the different car seats and cribs before finding the one we like. We both decided to wait to buy the furniture next month since we are in the process of cleaning out the guest room beside our bedroom.

After noting the price of the crib and car seat, we pay for our purchases and head back home.

* * *

"We should look at baby names tonight," Christian says while we finish eating dinner.

"Okay. Do you have any in mind?" I put my fork down and take a sip of my water.

"I would like to name her after my mother. Is that okay?" he shifts in his chair and looks at me nervously.

My mouth lifts slightly as I stare at him. "What about the middle name? I mean I love the name Ella, but two Ella Grey's?" I chew on my lip while deep in thought.

"Good thinking. Um, how about Alison?" he frowns.

I shake my head no and bite my lip in concentration. I can't think of any names, so I pick up my phone and google baby names. _What would go well with Ella?_

 _Bailey?_ No.

 _Briana?_ No.

 _Molly?_ No.

"I can't think of any that would go well with Ella. Your mother's middle name is Jade. What if we use her middle name instead?" I suggest after not seeing any names that I like.

Christian looks deep in thought while he goes through baby names on his phone. His eyes suddenly light up, and he turns towards me.

"How about Ellie Jade Grey?" he beams at me and my eyes go wide as I gasp.

" _I love that!_ Oh, Christian," I clap and practically dance in my seat.

"It's perfect. We have a name!" he laughs as he gets up and comes over to me and grabs my face with his hands and kisses me hard on the lips.

"We have a name!"

* * *

 _ **AN: I know this is short and later than I usually update, but the kiddos have been sick, and my husband and I are starting to get it as well, so I haven't had the chance to write until earlier today.**_

 _ **There will be a few more chapters left of the story, probably under five. I want to write a few more things before I mark this story complete. I know that my previous stories I had them have boys, so I thought I would change it this time around.**_

 _ **Thank you for reading and the reviews of the last chapter. See you all next week.**_

 _ **Pinterest is update.**_


	23. Chapter 23

_**Christian**_

I can't believe how fast the pregnancy has gone by. Ana is now nearing her due date, and our little princess should be here within a week.

I am so excited for Ellie to be here, and to be able to hold my little girl in my arms finally. We finished the nursery about a week ago, and Ana is currently in there rearranging Ellie's clothes for the hundredth time. I remember reading about nesting in one of the baby books I bought at the beginning of the pregnancy, and Ana has been going crazy about cleaning the nursery and the house for about a month now.

I try not to laugh when I walk into our daughter's nursery where Ana is folding and unfolding Ellie's blankets that are stored in the closet.

I look around the nursery and smile. The room is painted a warm gray with gold polka dots scattered on the far wall. The letters of her name are hanging above her crib that Ana's mother had designed for us. Her gray crib sits in the corner of the room, and a white bookshelf is near the crib where we placed several of Ellie's baby books and various picture frames. There is a comfy floral covered chair by the bookshelf where Ana will be feeding our daughter at night. We also have a matching gray changing table by the window and a few white fluffy rugs scattered throughout the floor. I also redesigned the closet where I build some extra shelves that are attached to the closet doors, and I placed a long plastic organizer in the middle of the closet where the blankets and burp clothes are stored.

Elliot came over a few days ago to help me install the car seat since he is the expert when it comes to baby gear. Elliot and Aleida welcomed their daughter Abigail a few months ago, and she is a beautiful little girl with her brown hair and Aleida's brown eyes. The twins love their little sister, and they dote on her constantly, and they are already begging their parents for another baby which made Elliot groan since I know that they are want to be done with having kids.

I come out of my thoughts and smile when Ana huffs in frustration when she sees the number of blankets we have bought Ellie. The closet is packed full of clothes, baby necessities, and diapers that our daughter will need for the first year.

Ana continues to rearrange the clothes that are placed on hangers while I watch along in amusement when she color-coordinated her different outfits. She stands on her tippy toes and bites her lip when she struggles to put an outfit on the top shelf. When she is done, she caresses her stomach and smiles up at the clothes in the closet.

Ana is the most beautiful pregnant women I have ever seen. Her bump has grown so much since we first found out she was pregnant. Her hair is longer, shiner and thicker than it was before, and she regularly walks around with a permanent smile on her face even when her ankles swell up from walking around so much.

I think we both have been remarkably more relaxed and happier since we found out about the baby. Our parents have been over the moon since we told them. Carla has gone crazy with buying Ellie all sorts of clothes and toys; I swear that woman buys at least five new outfits every week. Since it's their first grandchild, they both offered to buy the furniture for the nursery, and because of that we agreed, and they happily brought over the furniture when we told them what we were going to buy.

"Can you help me please?" Ana snaps when she spots me by the door.

"Sure baby," I smirk causing her to glare at me.

"You could have helped me instead of standing in the doorway staring at me," she huffs as she picks up another blanket.

"I'm sorry, babe," I smile sweetly at her causing her to roll her eyes.

She shoves the neatly folded blankets in my hands before going back to rearranging the clothes that are on hangers. I inwardly growl at her since there is nothing wrong with the blankets.

I sit on the floor cross-legged and refold them and place them beside me. Ana suddenly throws her hands up and grabs the blankets that I just folded and starts over again.

"What are you doing? I just folded those," I frown while she redoes them.

"You didn't do it right, Christian!" she snaps as she folds them the same way I just did.

"You're doing it the same way I did," I say frustrated as I roll my eyes.

"I am not! It's different _. Ugh, you are so annoying!"_ she growls as she angerly folds the blankets.

I close my eyes and count to ten. These hormones are irritating, and it's starting to piss me off. Even though she is happy and smiling, here lately she also has been biting my head off at every little thing. She continually tells me how annoying I am and then waddles off cursing one minute and then crying and saying she is sorry for yelling at me the next minute.

I love her so damn much, but I am glad the pregnancy is almost over. I am trying not to snap back at her because I know that her hormones are going crazy right now, and getting angry with her is the last thing that she needs. So instead of yelling back, I take a deep breath and try to follow her lead and fold the blankets like she is doing.

"Thank you!" she exclaims and finishes with the clothes on the hangers.

I sigh and put them back where they were before kissing the side of her head and leaving the room.

* * *

An hour later, Ana walks into our bedroom with a smile on her face. I am laying on my back on the bed looking over some invoices for work. While I am looking through them, Ana slowly crawls up the bed kissing up my right leg. I moan when she cups my erection through my pajama pants. When she crawls up my body and starts kissing my chest, we hear a loud knock at the front door.

"Who the hell is that?" I groan and lean my head back in annoyance.

"I don't know," she pouts, and carefully climbs off me.

I sigh and stomp to the front door and open it to reveal my brother, his wife and the kids. The boys are poking each other while Aleida is holding the baby with a diaper bag thrown on her shoulder and Elliot rubbing his hands together in excitement.

"Thanks for doing this, man," he smiles as he walks past me into the house.

I frown as Aleida kisses my cheek and the boys follow her while trying to trip each other.

"Ow," I hiss when one of the boys kicks my foot as he passes me.

I hop on one foot into the house and close the door. The boys start running around the living room furniture yelling and laughing while Elliot digs through the refrigerator and Aleida coos at the baby while she places her down on the sofa. Ana comes out of the bedroom looking confused at all the loud noise. She cradles her stomach and suddenly facepalms herself when she spots the boys who are still running around the living room.

"Oh, Elliot I totally forgot," Ana sighs as she walks into the kitchen to hug Elliot.

"Forgot what? What are you doing here, Elliot?" I frown and rub my foot which is now red.

"It's date night. You were going to babysit. Remember?" he rolls his eyes as he kisses Ana's forehead.

I groan and run my hand through my hair. I forgot that Elliot asked me a few days ago to babysit the kids since they haven't gotten to go out since the baby was born. Ana jumped at the chance to babysit since she wanted to get some practice in before Ellie gets here.

"All of them?" I look in horror at the boys who are still running around my living room chasing each other.

"Just Abigail. Mom and dad offered to watch the boys. Unless you want to watch them as well?" he smirks as he points to the boys who are now sword fighting with fake swords that I didn't even know that had until now.

I shake my head quickly as they start fighting and hitting each other with their swords.

" _Daniel! Dylan! That's enough!_ " Elliot firmly says while glaring at them. They immediately stop fighting and poke their tongues out at each other.

"Abby just had her bottle before we came, so she should be good for a few hours. I didn't bring the pack n play since you have Ellie's crib. I hope that is okay?" Aleida knots her fingers together while glancing at Ana.

"Of course, that is okay. You guys go have fun, and we will see you in a bit," Ana smiles and hugs Aleida who looks relieved.

"Just call if you have any problems. Thanks again buttercup."

Elliot smiles as he pinches her nose causing Ana to swat his hand away playfully. Aleida places Abby in her arms and softly kisses her cheek before taking Elliot's hand. They round up the boys who are now quiet, thank god, and practically run out of the house.

"Well so much for sex," I sigh and plop down on my chair.

"Later, I promise. What shall we do Miss Abby?" Ana coos down at the baby while she carefully sits down on the sofa.

"Easy baby," I leap up and help Ana sit down and rearrange the pillows, so she is more comfortable.

I smile as Ana rubs her stomach with one hand and beams down at Abby. All of a sudden, we hear Abby grunt and then she scrunches up her nose.

"Well it's time to change your diaper little one," Ana wrinkles her nose.

I try not to gag when I help Ana up from the sofa since the smell is horrific. _Geeze, what are they feeding this kid?_

Ana walks to the nursery and places Abby on the changing table while I set the diaper bag on the floor. I quickly open the bag and find the diapers and wipes and hand them to Ana. She grabs them from my hand and sets them down before she unsnaps Abby's onesie. I cover my nose and look away when Ana begins changing her diaper. Ana is unfazed at the smell when changing her while I am next to her trying not to heave.

Ana is a pro at changing diapers since we used to babysit the twins when they were little. We also made sure to attend Lamaze class, so we can be fully prepared for birth and after our daughter comes into the world. I, on the other hand, suck at changing diapers, but I'm hoping I will get the hang of it when Ellie gets here. I don't want Ana to be only changing her diapers; I want to be involved as much as I can.

"There! All clean," Ana smiles down at Abby who is busy sucking her fingers and looking out the window.

Ana hands me, Abby, as she cleans up and waddles out of the room to throw away the diaper. Ana wanted to get one of those diaper genies, but I didn't think they are necessary. The other utterly unnecessary item that Ana wanted to get is one of those wipe warmers. I absolutely put my foot down on that one since those are the most ridiculous suggested baby item to purchase in my opinion.

Smiling, I cuddle my niece to my chest and rock her back and forth a few moments before walking out of the nursery where Ana is in the kitchen starting dinner.

I head into the living room and carefully sit down in my chair with Abby in my arms. She is laying on my chest looking around the room while I rub her back gently. I smile when she starts to coo, and after a few moments, she falls asleep.

Ana waddles into the living room with her phone and snaps a picture of us. Her eyes tear up after she takes another picture. I blow her a kiss causing her to smile and leans down to kiss Abby on her head softly.

"Dinner is ready," she whispers.

I nod and carefully get up and walk into the nursery where I gently place Abby in Ellie's crib. I smile and softly run my finger down her cheek before walking out of the room. I smile as I shut the door quietly, so I don't wake her up.

Ana has dinner of chicken and potatoes on the table when I walk into the dining room. She was just placing our drinks on the table when Abby decides to start crying.

"I just put her down," I sigh and walk towards the nursery.

"Wait, Christian! Let's just give her a few minutes," Ana whisper-yells before I can open the door to the nursery.

I frown and stand there by the door as we both wait to see if she cries again. I hear Abby whimper for a few seconds before I hear silence. I stand there for a few minutes, not hearing anything so I sigh in relief and walk towards the dining room.

"Thanks. She is asleep," I smile and sit down.

"Good. I know that Aleida is trying not to jump every time she cries. Usually, Abby only cries for a minute or two before she calms down and goes back to sleep," she explains.

I nod and start with my dinner. We eat and make light conversation, trying not to be loud, so we don't wake up Abby.

"I can't wait until she gets here," Ana smiles as she rubs her bump.

"Me too. It's getting close," I grin as I take a sip of my water.

"We have everything ready. I am just nervous that we that we forgot something. We installed the car seat, correctly right?" she suddenly panics.

"Baby," I gently take her hand and rub circles on her palm.

"Sorry," she sighs before giving me a peck on the lips.

"Everything is ready. The car seat is installed, we have your hospital bag ready. Everything is going to be fine," I chuckle.

"One more week."

She places my hand on her stomach, and I feel Ellie kicking away causing me to smile wildly. I lean down and talk to our daughter for a few minutes while Ana runs her hand through my hair. I can't wait to meet our little girl. We have waited for this moment for years, and I can't wait until we finally get to hold our baby in our arms.

* * *

 _ **AN: Thank you all for the continued support. The next chapter we will meet baby Ellie, and I don't plan to write the delivery this time around. There will be a few time jumps in the upcoming chapters and then the story will be complete.**_

 _ **I will try to have the next update out soon. Thank you for reading and reviewing. See you all soon. :) Pinterest has been updated.**_


	24. Chapter 24

_**Ana**_

"It's okay, babe," Christian rubs my back as I lay on my side.

I am officially a week past my due date, and I am miserable. I have had Braxton Hicks contractions for a week now, and Christian and I thought that I would be going into labor by now, but it hasn't happened. We have tried everything to speed up the process, and nothing has worked. Not even sex.

"No, it isn't. My back is killing me," I groan and rub my eyes, willing myself not to cry.

"I know baby. Here," he kisses my temple before sitting up and putting light pressure on my lower back.

I sigh and lay there trying to relax while Christian messages my sore back. I don't know how much time has passed, but before I know it my eyes begin to droop and then I'm asleep.

I wake up a few hours later and roll over to see that Christian is not in bed with me. I slowly sit up and rub my eyes before walking into the bathroom. After finishing up in the bathroom, I wash my hands and waddle out into the living room. I frown when I hear complete silence.

"Christian?" I call out, and he doesn't answer.

I walk into the kitchen to see a note on the refrigerator from Christian. I smile when I read it.

 _ **Went to go get ice cream. Be back in a few. XX**_

I have been craving pistachio ice cream for a while now, and every time I wake up from a nap, Christian has a bowl of ice cream waiting for me. I have been eating a lot of it, and we just ran out yesterday. I place the note on the kitchen island before opening the refrigerator and taking out a carton of orange juice. I pour me a glass before putting the juice back in the fridge.

I sigh when I slowly lower myself in Christian's recliner. I sit there in peaceful silence while drinking my orange juice. I put the glass down on the coffee table and groan when a contraction suddenly hits me. I place my hand on my stomach and breath deeply.

After it passes I relax back into the chair for a few minutes before another contraction hits. This one is stronger causing me to groan loudly. My eyes widen when another one hits five minutes later. I clutch my stomach and try to ride it out. I move around the chair trying to get comfortable.

"Oh, no," I groan and look towards the door willing Christian to walk through it.

I get up slowly after another one passes and try to walk towards the bedroom so that I can grab my phone, but I don't get very far. I cry out loud when a strong contraction hits causing me to hunch forward.

Tears spring to my eyes while I clutch my stomach. After the contraction passes my eyes widen in horror when I hear a faint pop and fluid starts to trickle down my leg. I feel more fluid gushing out and onto the floor causing me to start crying. I put my hand on the wall and cry out when another contraction hits. It's so painful that I nearly fall to my knees.

"Christian!" I yell out.

Before I know it, I am on my knees on all fours riding out another contraction. After it passes, I crawl forward before getting to the wall and placing my hand and slowly getting to my feet. I waddle towards our bedroom while tears fall down my cheeks. Amniotic fluid is gushing out at this point, soaking the carpet that is in the hallway. I get to the bedroom and see my phone on the nightstand. Before I can grab it, another one hits nearly knocking me on the bed.

When it subsides, I hear the front door open and Christian yelling out. "Ana?"

I burst out crying and clutch my stomach when I hear Christian running into the bedroom.

"Ana!"

He is by my side in a flash when he sees me bent over the bed with the phone in my hand.

"Oh, my God, Christian," I moan and place my head on the bed. _Thank God, he is here._

"I'm here, baby. Let's get to the hospital," he panics while running over to the closet and grabbing my hospital bag.

He gently picks me up and tries not to run to the car while I bury my head into his chest and try to breathe in and out.

It takes us fifteen minutes to get to the hospital. Before I had gotten to the car, Christian quickly placed a few towels on my seat, and by the time we made it to the hospital, the towels were soaked.

A nurse comes out of the hospital with a wheelchair when she sees us pull up by the doors. She smiles at me and helps me into the chair while Christian grabs the bag.

"We will be checking her in, sir," the nurse says before wheeling me into the hospital.

Christian rushes to park the car and he is by my side under five minutes. I sigh in relief when he appears beside me. He grabs my hand and squeezes. The nurse is busy checking me in while we wait. The contractions are starting to get stronger, and I clutch my stomach and try to do the breathing exercises that we learned in Lamaze class.

"Are you ready baby?" Christian leans down and pushes my sweaty hair out of my eyes.

"Ready," I smile through my tears while Christian stares at me with love and a little bit of fear in his eyes.

"We're going to have a baby tonight," he beams at me while his eyes turn glassy.

"I know," I choke out and smile.

After the nurse checks me in, she wheels us over to triage so that they can get an IV in before wheeling me into the delivery room.

 _Here we go._

* * *

"When the next contraction hits, I want you to push, Ana," the doctor says.

I have been pushing for the last thirty minutes. I wanted an epidural, but since I was eight centimeters already, they couldn't give me one. I started to freak out when they told me that it was too late to have one, but with Christian by my side and giving me words of encouragement in my ear, I relaxed somewhat. I was still scared out of my mind with having a natural birth, though.

When the next contraction hit, I scream out in pain as the doctor continued to tell me to push harder. After a few more painful pushes, I hear the most beautiful sound in the world.

Our daughters cry.

I burst out crying when the doctor placed her on my chest. Christian has tears streaming down his face when he sees Ellie for the first time. I wrap my arms around her and kiss her head. Christian sniffles before kissing her shoulder.

"Would you like to cut the cord, daddy?" the nurse smiles at Christian.

He nods before taking the scissors. After he cuts the cord, the nurse gently takes Ellie from my arms over to the incubator to clean her up.

Christian leans over and puts his hands on my face and places his forehead to mine.

"I'm so proud of you baby," he whispers.

"Thank you. I can't believe she is finally here," I sniffle and fresh tears spring to my eyes when I look over at our daughter getting weighed.

"I know," he laughs and kisses my nose before walking over to Ellie.

When the nurse finishes and wrapping her up in a pink hospital blanket, she places her in Christians arms. He stares down at her in awe for a few minutes. He gently rocks her back and forth a few moments causing me to weep when I see a few tears roll down his face.

A nurse takes a picture and smiles over at me. I mouth my thanks to her before she nods back and goes back to the computer. The doctor finishes delivering the placenta, and one of the nurses gives me some pain relief in my IV. The doctor congratulates us, and after a light squeeze to my shoulder and a kind smile, she leaves the room.

After about fifteen minutes, the nurses leave the room after getting us settled in and handed us a bottle of ready-made formula. Christian walks over to me after he unwraps her and smiles at me before gently placing Ellie on my chest. Skin to skin.

"Hey there, you," I smile while staring down at her.

She is beautiful. She has a mop of copper-colored hair, and her eyes are a beautiful shade of blue with a hint of gray. She has my nose and ears, but other than that, she resembles Christian. She yawns before looking around almost curiously causing me to giggle.

Christian chuckles before sitting down on the bed beside me. "She is beautiful," he whispers before running a finger down her cheek.

"She is," I smile up at him before he leans down and gives me a chaste kiss.

Ellie starts to get fussy after fifteen minutes, causing Christian to get up to grab the bottle of formula. Christian unwraps the nipple and places it on the bottle before shaking and handing it to me. I sit up and swaddle her back up with the blanket before straightening my gown. I place the nipple against her lips causing her to open her mouth and starts sucking.

"You sure you don't want to breastfeed?" Christian asks before he kisses my hair.

"Yeah. I know I can pump and send them when she goes to daycare, but I would rather just feed her formula, so you can at least feed her too. I think it will be less stressful," I explain.

"I could still feed her with breastmilk in the bottle, though," he points out.

I sigh and nod. I know that breastfeeding is the best option, but I feel as though it doesn't matter if she is formula fed or breastfed. If she is healthy and getting the nutrients she needs, it shouldn't matter if she is breastfed or not. A happy baby is all that matters.

"Ana, whatever you want to do. I know that a lot of people are pressuring you to breastfeed, so I don't want you to feel like you have too. I am happy whatever you want to do," he whispers against my hair.

"I know. Thank you," I smiled softly up at him.

My mom and Kate are always saying how the breast is best and that I should only breastfeed Ellie. I have read up on it, and it took me a while to make a decision, but I feel as though that it shouldn't matter.

"The next six weeks should be interesting," Christian says after a moment of silence.

"Yes, it will. Then back to work," I sigh and kiss Ellie's forehead.

"It will be fine. Unless you want to stay home full time?" he says hopefully.

I roll my eyes and smirk at him causing him to pout. Christian wanted me to quit my job and stay at home full time, and as much as that option seems appealing, I decided not to. I love my job, and I have always wanted to be a teacher. Who knows, I might feel differently after my maternity leave is up, but for right now I am content with going back to work.

After Ellie is done eating, I hand her over to Christian, so that he can burp her. He puts her on his shoulder and pats her back gently, but firmly.

"Good girl," he says with a smile after she burps loudly.

I giggle and lay back and relax when he places her in the bassinet. Christian stands there and rubs her stomach while she peacefully sleeps. He straightens up and walks over to my hospital bag and gets out a pink headband that I packed earlier.

I smile when he walks over to the bassinet and gently places it around her head. He smiles over at me before getting his phone out of his pocket and takes several pictures.

"I need to call our parents." He says after a few minutes.

I look at the clock and see that it is 10:30 pm. I sigh and close my eyes when Christian sits down in one of the chairs and calls his parents first.

I put my hand on the side of the bassinet and try not to cry when I lay there staring at our beautiful baby girl. I drift off to sleep with a smile on my face, feeling overjoyed that we finally got our miracle.

* * *

 _ **AN:**_ _ **Ellie Jade is Here!**_

 _ **Sorry for the delay in updating. School has been keeping me busy, and when it finally calmed down, I got sick with a bad infection and got a cold on top of it, but I am slowly getting better, thank goodness.**_

 _ **There are only a few chapters left to this story, and I don't know when I will be updating next, so bear with me. I decided to go ahead and do the delivery since I didn't think it would be a good idea to skip it due to the whole Leila thing. Plus, I decided not to add anymore Leila drama. I want to focus these last few chapters on their family life with Ellie.**_

 _ **Thank you for reviewing and following. See you all soon.**_


	25. Chapter 25

**AN: Hey everyone! I'm sorry it took me so long to update, but RL has been busy and with the holiday's and my youngest having eye surgery earlier this month (he's okay and it was successful), it took me a while to write this chapter.**

 **I decided to just combine the last two chapters so this will be the final chapter of this story. I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed not only this story, but all my previous ones. I don't have any other stories planned, so this will be my final story on this site. Who knows, I might come back in the future with other one-shots, but for now, I am just going to focus on other things.**

 **I did plan to do a sequel to A Different Path to Fifty, so I might go ahead with that sometime in the future. Don't know if you will be interested, but if I do a sequel, it will be written to completion before I post it.**

 **Thank you so much for all for the support throughout my stories and I hope you enjoy the last chapter. Pinterest has been updated as well.**

 **Hope you all had a good holiday and Happy New Year! Let's make 2019 a good one!**

 **XOXOXOX**

* * *

 _ **Ana**_

"Do you have everything, honey?" my mom asked me while looking around the hospital room.

I look around the recovery room and make sure I don't see anything that I forgot to pack in my hospital bag.

"I think so. I don't see anything," I smile down at Ellie while fixing the straps of her car seat.

"Great. Oh, honey, she is absolutely precious," mom coos down at Ellie after putting the last bottle into the diaper bag.

"I know. I'm relieved to finally be going home," I sigh and stand up from the bed, careful not to get up too quickly since I am still a little sore.

Today, we are getting released from the hospital. We have been in the hospital for almost two days, and I am so ready to go home and sleep in my own bed. It's always been hard for me to sleep in unfamiliar surroundings.

"They should be done soon, and then we can go," mom says before going into the bathroom to wash her hands.

Christian and his parents left a few minutes ago to make sure the car seat base is properly installed in the car.

"Well, Ana here is your discharge papers. Let me go over a few things and you will be free to leave," Nurse Megan smiles down at Ellie before walking over to me.

All the nurses here have been very helpful and sweet. Nurse Gloria was our night nurse, and Megan took over in the early morning hours.

After talking for a few minutes, Megan congratulates us again and gives me a warm hug before leaving the room.

Christian walks into the room a few minutes later with his parents closely trailing behind him. Ella immediately is by Ellie's side while Thomas looks on proudly.

"Ready to go?" Christian kisses me on the forehead.

I nod and smile up at him before grabbing the diaper bag. Mom and Ella coos down at the baby one last time before Christian gently pick up the car seat.

"Oh, Ana, I just love that outfit she has on. So adorable," Ella gushes down at the baby.

Mom made Ellie this cute flowered ruffled shirt and headband that I paired with a white onesie that reads _Hello World, I'm Ellie_ in gold letteringon the front.

"Thank you. I love the skirt and headband. Thanks again, mom," I smile at mom and she beams back.

Thomas guides me over to the wheelchair that I am required to sit in before I leave the hospital. He helps me sit down, while mom and Ella get the many bags scattered throughout the room. Thomas pushes me down the hallway while Christian carries the car seat. Every nurse waves and smiles at me before we leave the postpartum floor.

A few minutes later, we arrive downstairs and Christian gently places the car seat on my lap while he goes and gets the car. Thomas comes around and talks to Ellie while we wait for Christian. I smile and giggle as she holds his index finger tightly in her hand.

When Christian parks in front of us, Thomas helps me out of the chair and into the front seat.

"Congratulations, honey," he kisses my forehead before stepping back.

"Thank you, grandpa," I giggle as he beams down at me.

While Christian puts the car seat in the base, mom and Ella places the bags in the back seat.

"I love you, Ana. Call me if you need anything at all. I will be there whenever you need me," mom gives me a hug.

"I will. Promise. Tell dad, I love him too." Dad came to see us earlier this morning but sadly had to leave after a few hours since an emergency came up at work.

With tears in her eyes, she kisses my cheek before saying goodbye to Ellie and Christian. After mom leaves, Ella and Thomas hug us goodbye and they walk hand in hand towards their own car. Everyone is planning on coming over in a few days to spend some time with the baby. We wanted to spend the first couple of days alone before having everyone come over.

Christian jumps into the driver's seat and starts the car. He adjusts the mirrors and checks on Ellie one more time before leaving.

Twenty minutes later, we pull up at the house and I smile when I see a stork yard sign out in front that reads Ellie's name and birth weight.

"That is cute. Where did you get that?" I laugh when he parks in front of the garage.

"Elliot," he smirks before turning off the engine.

I giggle and shake my head. Of course, that would be Elliot's doing.

After safely getting into the house, I smile and sigh happily when I take in the familiar surroundings.

"Why don't you go lie down for a while and I will take care of Ellie," Christian offers while placing her down on the couch.

"That sounds good right now. You sure?"

"Yes. Go get some sleep," he smiles before placing his lips gently on mine.

I smile back and after kissing Ellie on the cheek, I head towards the bedroom. I strip off my clothes and head towards the bathroom to take a quick shower. After I am done, I carefully dry off and since I am still bleeding, I put on a pad and a pair of comfortable underwear and lie down. I sigh, exhausted, but happy to be home in my own bed. I roll over and before I know it, I am fast asleep.

* * *

 _ **Christian**_

"Let's get you out of there, shall we?" I smile down at my daughter.

She has her eyes open and looking around at her surroundings while I carefully unhook her from the straps. I carefully pick her up and kiss her forehead before walking over to my chair. She yawns as I cuddle her to my chest. I smile as I lay back in my recliner as Ellie falls asleep a few minutes later. I chuckle before carefully taking off her headband and kiss her soft dark hair.

I can't believe this moment is finally here. Ana and I have been waiting forever to have a baby, and I still can't believe that it finally happened. I am scared shitless like every other new parent, but I'm excited what the future holds for us.

I smile, and I lie there for a few minutes, basking in the warmth of my daughter on my chest. Before I know it, my eyes get heavy and fall asleep with a smile on my face.

I jerk awake when I hear Ellie start to whimper. She moves around as her cries start to get louder. I kiss her head and carefully stand up from my chair. I yawn and look over at the clock on the stove to see that it is almost six in the evening. I walk over to our bedroom door and peek in through the crack to see Ana still fast asleep.

Ellie protests and starts to cry louder causing Ana to jump awake. I inwardly curse and back away from the door. I didn't want to wake her up since she hasn't gotten that much sleep since Ellie has been born, so I wanted to let her sleep in a little bit before the chaos of the night feedings.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, babe," I walk into the room as Ana jumps up from the bed.

She yawns and stretches before walking over to us with a small, tired smile on her face. "It's okay. I needed to get up anyway. How has she been?"

"We both just got up actually. She's hungry," I smile.

"Are you hungry, honey?" Ana coos at the baby before gently taking her out of my arms.

"I'll make a bottle, while you go change her," I kiss Ana's forehead before walking off to the kitchen.

When I have the bottle ready, I walk over to Ana who is adjusting Ellie on the bobby pillow. I hand her the bottle and smile as Ellie greedily drinks her milk. I sit down beside them and put my arm over the couch.

"I still can't believe that she is finally here," Ana giggles.

"Me too. I'm proud of you babe. You did a good job," I chuckle and lean over to kiss her on the lips.

"It was painful, but she was worth it," she smiles and sighs happily.

We both sit there in silence while she drinks her milk. After five minutes, she is done and Ana hands her over to me to burp. After she gives us a massive burp, I kiss her soft hair and place her on the opposite side of the couch, so I can swaddle her back up. I chuckle when Ellie cries from her interrupted sleep. When that's done, I walk over to the pack n play that we are going to keep out in the living room and lay her down. Ellie quickly falls asleep after I rock her for a few minutes.

Ana smiles from the couch as I tiptoe away to her. She giggles as I throw myself beside her on the sofa. I chuckle as I pull her into my arms.

"I love you, Ana. Thank you," I rest my forehead against hers and stare down at her.

"I love you too," She whispers before bringing her lips to mine.

* * *

 _ **Six Weeks Later**_

 _ **Ana**_

"Well, everything is looking good. You can get dressed."

I smile and sit up while Christian hands me my shoes. Today is my six-week doctor's appointment and I am excited to finally be able to have sex with my husband again. It has been a very frustrating six weeks for both of us since we have both been dying to reconnect.

Ellie has been doing great. She is a very quiet baby and hardly ever cries unless she is hungry or overtired which I am grateful. She started sleeping for longer stretches at night and it's been great for us to get some quiet time together.

Three days after we brought her home, everyone came over to see the baby. Elliot and Aleida had brought the boys over to see their niece but left Abby with Aleida's mother for the day. They both cooed and held the baby almost the entire time before my mother had enough and practically grabbed her out of Elliot's arms. Elliot being the baby that he is, sulked on the sofa for the rest of the day much to Christian's amusement.

It was heartwarming to see my dad hold Ellie. I know that my parents are over the moon excited to finally have their grandchild. She has already been spoiled rotten by both grandparents, and that day, Ella came over with another handful of bags for Ellie.

"We will call you in a few days to go over the results of the pap smear, but other than that, we will see you at your next appointment in a year," doctor Gordon explained before leaving the room.

"You ready?" Christian asks while he picks up the car seat.

I nod with a smile before picking up my purse and I follow him out of the exam room. We check out in front before walking out of the doctor's office.

"Home?" Christian asks, his voice husky and full of need.

I look over at him and see him squirming in his seat and staring at my breasts. I bit my lip and he groans and closes his eyes.

"You're killing me, Ana," he groans and takes a deep breath.

I giggle at his reaction. I know that he is desperate to rip my clothes off, and I am not that far from doing it myself.

He shakes his head and starts the car and heads home. After arriving at the house, he parks and jumps out to get Ellie out of the back. It is Friday today, so he doesn't have to go back to work. This weekend, my parents are going to take Ellie for the day tomorrow, so we can spend some time alone, which we are both excited about.

After getting Ellie dressed and fed, I lay her down in her crib and after rubbing her stomach for a few minutes, she falls asleep. I make sure the monitor is on before quietly leaving the room. I place the other monitor down and look at the screen to see that she is still asleep.

Christian comes into the room and practically tackles me onto the bed causing me to laugh. He rips off his jeans and shirt while I do the same. He groans when my breasts fall free from my bra. He sucks on my nipple while I shove my hand down his underwear. He moans loudly when I squeeze his erection.

"I'll be right back," I pant before shoving him off me.

He moans in disappointment while I run to the bathroom. I quickly go to the bathroom and wash my hands. After I am done, I walk into the bedroom to see Christian sitting up in bed with his back against the headboard. I bit my lip and moan when he rubs his erection through this black boxer briefs.

"I need you, babe," he licks his lips while continuing to rub his cock through his underwear.

I straddle his waist and kiss him passionately. He hurriedly tries to take off his briefs while I kiss down his chest. I groan when his erection springs free. These past two weeks, we have done other things to get each other off, which were amazing, but I miss him being inside of me.

He takes his erection into his fist and strokes himself a few times before I guide him to my core. I slowly slide down onto his cock, squeezing my eyes together when I feel burning.

"Are you okay?" Christian frowns in concern.

"Yeah, just take some getting used to," I bite my lip as I continue.

I moan when he is fully inside of me. It hurts a little bit, so I stop moving and take a deep breath. Christian moans loudly and throws his head back in pleasure. I pant and moan while I watch him slowly lose control. He shakes his head and pants loudly.

"Fuck, you feel so good. I fucking missed this," he moans before grabbing the back of my neck and kisses me hard.

After a few minutes, the pain slowly fades. I start to move slowly causing us both to moan into each other's mouths. I start slow, then speed up and throw my head back in pleasure. He grabs my hips and squeezes as I bounce harder and harder.

"Yes, Oh, fuck," he shouts.

He starts sucking on my neck and grabs one of my breasts. I almost hit my peak when he starts meeting my thrusts. When he roughly starts rubbing my clit, I explode and practically see stars as I yell out his name. He thrusts hard a few more times and yells my name as I feel him cum inside of me.

We both pant loudly as we come down from our orgasms. I fall onto his chest and smile at how sated and happy I feel.

"That was incredible," he whispers into my ear as he rubs my back.

"Yes, it was," I agree as I kiss his neck.

We lay there for a few minutes before we both hear Ellie cries over the baby monitor. Christian sighs and gently eases out of me causing me to wince.

"Sorry, babe," he says against my forehead.

"It's okay," I kiss his lips as he gets off the bed to put his briefs back on.

I go into the bathroom to wash up while he goes to get Ellie. When I walk out of the bathroom five minutes later, he walks in with Ellie in one arm, and a bottle in his other hand.

"We are hungry, mommy," he smiles as he sits down on the bed.

I feed Ellie, while Christian looks on in awe. After I burp her and swaddle her body, I lay her down in the bassinet that is attached to the side of our bed. I kiss her head before cuddling into Christian's side.

"Let's take a nap before I make dinner," I sigh, suddenly tired and put my arm around Christian's waist.

"Sounds good," he chuckles as he kisses the side of my head.

We both fall asleep quickly in each other's arms while Ellie continues to sleep soundly beside us.

* * *

 _ **Two Years Later**_

 _ **Christian**_

" _Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Ellie. Happy Birthday to you!"_

Ellie beams at everyone before blowing out her candles after making her wish. We all cheer and smile at her when she claps her little hands.

Today is Ellie's second birthday. These last two years have been absolute bliss. Ellie has been the easiest baby but is starting to show signs of the terrible two's which I am dreading. I look around at our family and smile at how far we have come.

Elliot and Aleida are still together and happy. Abby is almost three and Daniel and Dylan are now six and are wild and crazy as ever. They started kindergarten last year, and Abby started pre-k this year as well.

Ana went back to work six months after Ellie was born. It was tough on her in the beginning, but after a few months, we all started getting used to being back at work, and it's been smooth sailing ever since.

Leila ended up moving back home to Seattle to be closer to her mother, and Ana hears from her from time to time. She ended up finding a nice guy at the school where she works and is now engaged to him after a year of dating. Her daughter is healthy and also happy living closer to her grandmother. I do hope everything works out for her.

Jenna also met a guy about six months ago, and she finally seems truly happy. I am glad that she moved on from her asshole ex-fiancé who has now married and got divorced last year from a short fling in Vegas.

I roll my eyes when I see Kate running past me trying to stop her daughter from pulling down Ellie's presents from the back table. I still can't stand the girl, but she is Ana's friend, so I annoyingly put up with her for my wife's sake.

"Is she annoying you, Chris?" Jason smirks as he stands beside me.

Jason Taylor, the man who is full on crazy for marrying her stares down at me with a grin.

"You know she does, Jason," I roll my eyes once more after he laughs.

"Come on man, she isn't that bad," he smiles as he crosses his arms over his chest.

Jason and Kate got married a few months after Ellie turned one. Why? I have no fucking clue. They have Eva and Sophie and are currently trying for baby number three. Why he even wants to be with her is a mystery to me.

Jason and I became close when he started working at the garage. He is former military and a hard worker, and I enjoy hanging out with him and Elliot once a month.

Sophie, Jason's daughter from a previous marriage walks up to her dad and hugs him. He kisses her head and smiles over at me before running off to play with the twins.

"Uncle, Christian?" Ava comes over to me and puts her arms up for me to hold her.

I smile and pick her up and she cuddles against my chest. What do I say? This little girl loves me. Drives Kate crazy because I irritate her just as much as she irritates me.

"Ava, leave him alone. Don't you want to play with Ellie?" Kate narrows her eyes at us.

"No," she firmly says as she hugs me harder.

I smirk at her as she huffs and turns towards Ellie who is now up and playing with Abby. Jason shakes his head in amusement as he walks towards Kate and puts an arm around her.

"Having fun?" I turn around when I hear Ana behind me.

I smile when I see her staring at me with a smile and caressing her small baby bump.

Ana and I decided not to try for any more kids since our journey to parenthood was not something we wanted to do again. Our little miracle was enough for us, but five months ago, Ana started getting pregnancy symptoms. Ana didn't believe that we were pregnant since it took a long time for us to get pregnant the first time. I talked her into taking a test just in case, and she reluctantly agreed. We were both in shock when two dark lines immediately appeared on the screen. Of course, we freaked out and started to get nervous since most of her pregnancies ended up in miscarriage and that is not something that we wanted to go through again.

After hearing our baby's strong heartbeat, we became excited and less fearful. We couldn't believe that we were pregnant for the second time after years of infertility and loss.

The best part; it's a boy! I literally jumped out of my chair and pumped the air when we found out that I was having a son causing Ana to burst out laughing.

"I am," I smirk and kiss Ava's hair.

She smiles and starts tickling Ava causing her to squeal and laugh in my arms. I chuckle and put her down and she runs off to play with Ellie and Abby.

"How are you feeling?" I ask Ana while I caress her bump.

"Good. He's sleeping," she smiles up at me.

"Sit down, babe," I guide her to the table and help her down. She sighs and sits back while smiling at the kids. She looks beautiful in her long pink maternity dress and sandals.

"Daddy, ball?" Ellie runs over to us and stares up at me with her gray eyes that are identical to mine. She is dressed in the birthday outfit that Carla made for her. It's a plain white shirt that says _Two Fabulous_ in Gold and a pink and gold skirt. Ana also put on one of her many pink headbands over the brown curls that are flowing down her back.

"Sure," I smile down at her. Ellie jumps up and down and claps her hands excitedly.

"Have fun, honey," Ana smiles over at Ellie.

Ellie runs over to her mother and gives her a big kiss on the cheek and puts a hand on her belly.

"Bye," she says to the baby before running off towards the back door.

"Shoe's on, Ellie," Ana calls out after her.

"Fowgot, momma," Ellie stops running and picks up her pink ballet flats that are by the door and awkwardly puts them on.

I chuckle and go over to help her put them on. "There we are. Let's go play," I pick her up and walk outside towards the basketball hoop that is hanging on the garage.

Ellie love basketball and every night we try to play for a bit before dinner. She loves it and became addicted to playing after Elliot installed it one afternoon about nine months ago. It's become our little ritual and I love it. I can't wait for my son to get old enough, so he can play with us.

I get the ball out from the garage and use the remote to close it. After the door is closed, I gently pass the ball over to her and she starts bouncing the ball and giggling the whole time. I laugh as she tries to throw the ball into the hoop. Since it's too high for her, I pick her up and bring her over to the hoop and she throws it into the net. I cheer and spin her around causing her to laugh out loudly.

"Gain' daddy!" she giggles and points to the ball that is rolling towards the grass.

I put her down and she hurriedly walks over to it and picks it up. We go back and forth with the ball for five minutes before she wants to get down. I kiss the back of her head and put her back down on the ground.

Elliot comes out of the house followed by dad and Ray. Elliot scoops her up causing her to giggle as he spins her around as I did earlier. Dad, Ray and I play basketball while Elliot chases Ellie around the yard. Everyone comes out of the house and watches us play.

Carrick, Grace, and Mia are here as well for the party and I'm glad they could come. Carrick joins us as Grace strikes up a conversation with my mom. Mia is now attending college in Seattle and came home to visit for the weekend. Mia and Ana became close throughout the years and became a sister figure to Elliot and me. We are very fortunate to have good friends living next to us, and I couldn't imagine not having the Trevelyan's in our lives.

Ana beams over at Ellie, Elliot and the rest of the kids for a minute before her gaze finds mine. She watches us play with a huge smile on her face as she caresses her belly.

At this moment, I can't help but think back over twelve years ago to the day that I first met Ana when her car broke down. Never in a million years would I thought that I would meet my soul mate on a random day of getting cigarettes, which I successfully quit almost four years ago.

It took a long time to get here, but I am glad that I had Ana through all of it. Infertility sucks, but in the end, everything works out the way it should. Ana and I were meant to go through our pregnancy journey, and I will always be grateful that we got our two little miracles.

 **The End.**


End file.
